Stalking the GreenEyed Monster
by Cynlee
Summary: 10-year-old Mike knows more about katas than Leo? No Way! Or DOES he?
1. Chapter 1

_This bunny suddenly attacked me Friday morning and I've been working on it since. Hope you enjoy it._

_Oh, and a late edit to thank GreenWillow for her beta work on this! _

_TMNT do not belong to me or anyone I know personally. However, there IS coming a day when..._

**Stalking the Green-Eyed Monster**

Usually Leo paid little attention to Mike's many "projects". They were never as interesting as Don's, nor as colorful as Raph's (especially when Raph would accidentally smack his thumb with a hammer; the language was as entertaining as it was shocking). They certainly weren't as practical as his own ("Mike, HOW are you going to get an elephant?"). All of them worked hard to discourage Mike's interest in their own projects, which in itself was quite a project.

But the past few days Leo had noticed his brother spending extra time in the dojo.

And he knew that Mike was not in trouble, so it obviously wasn't a punishment set by Master Splinter about something that might have taken place during private lessons.

And there was the second thing Leo suddenly realized-- Mike lately had been going to Splinter for "private lessons", not just regular private lessons like they always did outside the dojo, but, in the words of the turtle in question "extra-special private lessons only for me."

"What kind of lessons?"

"Private ones."

"But WHAT kind of private ones?"

"The kind that are private, duh! If I tell you, then they ain't private!"

And with a "sheesh, I know you're not as smart as Don, but really..." trailing behind him as he left his frustrated brother standing gawking after him, Michelangelo headed for the dojo, a bulky notebook under one arm.

That was another thing. The notebook. A typical used three-ring binder, faded blue cloth covering, frayed at the edges, bulging to near overflowing with papers of all sorts, and colorfully decorated by Michelangelo with fierce Ninja and deadly weapons and the words "Michelangelo's Top Secret Project for Michelangelo's Eyes ONLY! Keep Out! I mean it, 'cause it's TOP SECRET!"-- he'd been carrying it around almost nonstop lately. They'd hardly paid it any attention when he'd first started dragging it out for them to see, constantly pointing out to one and all about how it was "very much top secret so none of you guys better try to read it 'cause it's PRIVATE", but now the more Leo thought about it, the more he realized that little brother must be working on "something special" and not just trying to get on their nerves as usual.

He began to notice that Mike would carry that notebook into the kitchen whenever he was helping Sensei with the cooking, or when he had to clean up afterwards. He carried it into the "classroom" both in group lessons as well as their individual ones. He carried it into the bathroom (but Leo preferred to NOT think about THAT! He remembered that time he accidentally walked in on Sensei, who was reading a magazine in there...). Heck, lately he'd been sleeping with it "to make sure you guys don't try to peek in it!"

"Like anyone really gives a damn about yer stupid notebook," Raph snorted, struggling into his pajamas.

"Raphael! Ten flips for swearing!" Splinter appeared from "nowhere" and stood, arms crossed and eyes flashing as he counted off the ten flips.

"You should know better, Raph," Leo admonished after Splinter left the room. "You know he hears everything, and you shouldn't use such language anyway."

Raph, head inside the pajama top that he'd been trying to put on before the unscheduled exercise, muttered something that not even Splinter would be able to hear, then climbed into bed, pulled up the covers, and with a pointed "how long are you gonna have them lights on?" buried his head into his pillow, back to them all.

Don, ignoring it all as if it were the usual nightly ritual (which, if truth be told, it was), was already dozing off. That left Leo to gaze in growing curiosity at the now "tented" Michelangelo, who even though the light was still on was using a flashlight to read his precious notebook. A soft, steady scratching sound alerted Leo to the fact that Mike was writing something.

"Ah-HA!" came the muffled exclamation. "So THAT'S how it's done..." followed by more scribbling noises.

"Go to bed, Leonardo," Splinter, on his way to his own room, stopped to see why the light was still on. "I am surprised to see you still up."

"Yes, father," Leo gulped, making a hasty dive for his own bed. "But father... what about..."

Splinter, about to turn off the lights, had failed to notice the top bunk. An indulgent smile touched his lips briefly, then vanished.

"Michelangelo, put your project away and go to sleep."

"Yes, father," Mike's grinning face appeared from under the covers, and he clicked off his flashlight, tucked his notebook between the pillow and the wall for safekeeping, and was probably asleep before Splinter turned off the lights.

Leo lay in the dark, long after Splinter had left and the soft breathing of three brothers indicated that he alone was wide awake. He hated to admit it, but he was beginning to wonder what the heck Mike was working on.

_Why had Splinter smiled?_

_I mean, Splinter didn't even snap at him for sitting up in bed like that! Don got in trouble for doing that last week. Splinter took his flashlight from him! And Raph got in trouble for it a few weeks ago, reading comics like that instead of being asleep. But Mike? He just gets smile and a "put your project away..."_

And Leo lay puzzling for some time. That Splinter hadn't missed Raph's one swear word, had reprimanded Leo for not being in bed, yet had not only missed seeing Mike (who, let's face it, was well within Splinter's eyesight!), but had only told him to put it away and go to sleep-- _WHAT kind of secret project was this? Why was Splinter giving Mike private lessons? That notebook... he takes it everywhere... well, except in the dojo during training, Splinter doesn't allow anything not related to training in the dojo... ha, that was funny that time Don tried to bring in his bug experiment because it was at a 'crucial' stage, and Raph nearly went crazy when one flew out and landed on him while he was on the balance beam, and... zzzzzz..._

But when he woke up next morning, he recalled that Mike HAD taken the notebook into the dojo! He had seen Mike carrying it into the dojo just the day before... and why was Mike spending all that extra time in the dojo?

Leo was the only one who ever regularly used the dojo on his own. Raph sporadically would make use of extra practice time, especially when he wanted to catch up to Leo. Don on occasion would spend a few extra minutes in there, but Mike?

Mike never went willingly into the dojo on his own time-- until recently.

As Leo helped get the dojo ready for the morning training, he kept thinking and rethinking about this mystery-- for it was a mystery, and Leo, interest piqued, would not rest until he had solved it. What was Mike up to? Was he in trouble? Trouble so bad that Splinter was keeping it from the rest of them?

"Leonardo, summon your brothers," Splinter's voice cut through Leo's thoughts.

"Hai, Sensei," he bowed, and in his best "I'm the leader" voice he commanded the others to attend.

After five minutes, he went in search of them.

"Guys! C'mon! You're gonna be late!"

"Keep yer shell on, LeoNERDo," Raph said, finishing his cereal with a noisy slurp of the remaining sugary milk from the bowl. "The dojo ain't goin' nowhere."

"And neither are you if you don't hurry!" Leo replied. "Remember, today is your turn to go scavenging with Splinter."

And with a bit more coaxing (i.e., literally pushing Don from behind while haranguing Raph about how Splinter'll not take him topside if he doesn't get his backside into that dojo pronto!), Leo got two of his brothers to training on time.

To the amazement of the three, Michelangelo was already there, sitting on the mat, notebook open, pencil tapping thoughtfully, face scrunched up in "Mikey thought". He removed two sets of loose pages from his overflowing notebook and gestured with his pencil at them.

"Master Splinter, I know you explained about the two different styles," he said, oblivious to the others. "But if they're pretty much the same, why does this one say it has sixty-five moves, while in these others it only comes out to about forty-five?"

"Every master, I believe, likes to improve upon the techniques of what they've learned in their youth," Splinter replied. "The way you and I improve upon the recipes that we come across."

"You mean like when we don't have all the ingredients, we improvise?"

Splinter thought about it, then shook his head.

"Well, I am not sure if it could be called that," he replied. "Now, put that away. It is time to begin."

Mike shoved his papers back into his notebook, then searched through it for a specific page. Making a bold check mark, he slapped the cover shut and, carefully placing it where he had easy access (and his brothers would not), began his warm-ups.

"Leo, you trying to catch flies?" Don nudged him, and Leo suddenly realized that he had been standing there, mouth open in... well... open in what? Shock? Surprise? Disbelief?

What WAS this emotion?

Why was Mike asking questions? Sixty-five moves? Masters? Wha-- Who-- Why did he have his special only for his eyes top-secret project in the dojo? Why was he ALLOWED to have his special only for his eyes top-secret project in the dojo?

Why was Splinter staring at him as if he had lost his mind?

"Ahem!"

"Uh, Sorry, Sensei!" Leo bowed quickly, realizing that he'd been doing it again. He began his warm-ups, and soon the training began, starting with some basic katas.

_Face front, heisoku dachi and bow-- Move to natural stance, yoi-- Look to the left, turn on the right foot and move the left foot to the left to zenkutsu dachi--Execute a harai uke with the left arm--_

Leo was so good at these, he could do them in his sleep. He was so good, he could (and sometimes did) perform them with his eyes closed, confident in the knowledge that he was keeping perfect time and that the others were with him move by move and step by step.

_Cross the left foot behind the right foot, turn left to face the right hand side (turn 270 degrees) in a left zenkutsu dachi, do a left harai uke-- Step forward with the right foot and do shoman tsuki with the right hand-- Pivot on the left foot, turning to the right to the opposite side to a right foot forward zenkutsu dachi. Do a right harai uke. Raph, slow down--_

Raph, he could tell, was bored with always doing the basics; when bored he tended to get ahead of them all if not checked by Splinter.

_Step forward with the right foot to right zenkutsu dachi and execute a right shoman tsuki-- Step forward with the left foot to left zenkutsu dachi and execute a left shoman tsuki-- Step forward with the right foot to right zenkutsu dachi and execute a right shoman tsuki--_

Don was good, better at some than others, but still the untrained eye would never mark his tiny mistakes; the right foot not at the exact angle, the left arm not exactly high enough, the turn not as smooth as it should be. Leo shook his head mentally; he would have to speak to Don, offer to go over the kata with him later.

_Cross the left foot behind the right foot, turn left to face the left hand side (turn 270 degrees) in a left zenkutsu dachi, do a left harai uke-- Step forward with the right foot and do shoman tsuki with the right hand--_

And as for Mike, Leo smugly and vaguely thought, eyes closed as he was correcting his brothers in his mind...

"Leonardo, you are not attending!"

Snickers accompanied this reprimand, and Leo realized that he was the only one still standing. Hastily he bowed and seated himself as Splinter called Donatello forward to demonstrate his progress with the Jo.

Don was eager to demonstrate. Splinter was going to let him start with the Bo full-time since he had grown so much both physically and in skill. He'd trained with both for a long time, but the length of the Bo had been a bit of a problem for the turtle.

Leo watched with a critical eye as Don demonstrated his skills with the grace of a dancer and the force of a deadly ninja. Having been hit by the Jo as wielded by his brother, Leo knew that Don had almost mastered quite a lot of control over that weapon.

The soft rustle of paper caught his attention. Turning slightly, he saw Michelangelo deep in the midst of his notebook.

"Michelangelo!" he hissed in as loud of a whisper as he dared. "Michelangelo! Put that away! Now!"

Mike pretended to not hear, merely using a highlighter to color a huge section of page of what appeared to be a thin book.

Leo cast a wary eye in Splinter's direction; he was too busy coaching Donatello with wise advice and knowledgeable suggestions. He turned back towards Mike, who was flipping through the pages, muttering something unintelligible under his breath even as he made check marks.

"Michelangelo!" Leo commanded in a louder whisper, waving one hand at him to try to get his attention. "Comply!"

"Quiet, Leo, I'm busy!" he whispered back, not raising his eyes from his work.

Leo glanced again at Sensei. Perhaps he should risk speaking aloud?

He turned once again to the unresponding Mike, preparing to turn loose the full power of his position as (future) Leader of this Team-- and his anger turned to stunned surprise as he heard what his brother was muttering.

"Hmmm...'Kick, down up, step behind, seisan-- Punch punch-- Down-- Up, double strike-- Down and strike-- Right seisan, block-- Punch punch turn-- Punch punch--' I like these directions way better than those others with all the Japanese. Makes it MUCH more clear..."

"Michelangelo, please put that away and prepare for your turn," Splinter's voice cut through Leo's frozen shock.

"Hai, Sensei!" and the notebook, carefully closed and just as carefully placed under the edge of a mat for safekeeping now commanded Leo's attention.

Though he was staring at his brother going through his nunchuka lesson, his mind was on that notebook-- and what he had overheard.

_'Kick, down up, step behind, seisan-- Punch punch-- Down-- Up, double strike-- Down and strike-- Right seisan, block-- Punch punch turn-- Punch punch--'_

_That sounds like a kata-- a kata that I don't know..._

_A KATA that I don't KNOW?_

_No! No way! NO WAY! I know ALL the katas Sensei has been teaching us! No WAY does he--_

Leo found himself staring at the notebook that was peeking out so temptingly, then snapped his head back to watch Mike, desperately trying to maintain his focus, trying his best to ignore the elephant in the corner... the big, grinning, orange-wearing elephant in the corner...

"Leonardo, it is now your turn," Splinter said, motioning for his student to stand before him.

Leo performed his lesson well but automatically. The only thing he could concentrate on was the one bright hot coal of determination that had started burning in his thoughts.

Somehow, some way, he had to find out what Mike was up to!


	2. Chapter 2

_Yay! Mah bunneh has come back! Thanks for the nice words._

_TMNT be the property of one P. Laird. Any belief that I work for them is just a Mirage.. BWA-HAHAHAHAHA! Sometimes I crack myself up..._

**Stalking the Green-Eyed Monster**

_'Kick, down up, step behind, seisan-- Punch punch-- Down-- Up, double strike-- Down and strike-- Right seisan, block-- Punch punch turn-- Punch punch--'_

_That can't be... it just CAN'T be... but it sounds like... but Mike just CAN'T know something... 'Kick, down up, step behind, seisan--'_

The rude laughter of Raph cut through Leo's preoccupation like (as Don liked to say) "Michelangelo through a pizza", and he found that everyone had been dismissed, but he had remained frozen to his spot.

Splinter raised an eyebrow at this unusual behavior, but decided to say nothing. He was finding out that ten-year-olds were in some ways more challenging than three-year-olds.

The morning training over, Leo decided it was time to Show some Interest. Following Mike into the living room, he put on his best Big Brother is About to Favor Little Brother with Attention expression and joined his quarry on the couch.

"So, Mike... need any help with your project?" he casually asked, as he generously passed the remote control to Mike while resisting the urge to just as casually take the notebook from him in return.

"Nope. I've pretty much got it figured out," came the cheery reply. He immediately launched into the daily "flip through all the channels looking for a good cartoon" routine that he had so perfected. The notebook, untidy and threatening to spill its contents, lay in his lap, calling to Leonardo.

"Well," Leo said, trying to look indifferent. "How 'bout I straighten up your notebook for you? Some of your papers are falling out. You don't want to lose any. You know Raph, he might throw them away."

"Naw, it's fine Leo," Mike said, absently patting the notebook with one hand. "I haven't lost a paper yet. And 'sides, it'll mess up my system. I know where everything is. Oh look! _Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends_! I hope it's my favorite-- YES! It IS! Firestar! Watch out for Kraven! Don't trust him!"

And Mike, distracted by Kraven's recently captured prehistoric animals escaping from the Natural History Museum thereby causing the Spider-Friends to have to try to recapture them, while Kraven's real purpose is revealed, didn't notice how his super-secret project notebook was slowly sliding off his lap and onto the couch between his actively watching self and the more quietly sitting Leonardo.

A stealthy hand reached out; fingertips barely brushed the faded cloth cover, rather smooth to the touch despite the wear and tear. A thumb carefully slid just under the corner of the cover and began to lift, even as eyes that appeared to be watching Kraven steal the Eye of India (a precious ruby on display at the museum) and then capture Firestar with the intent of combining her powers with the ruby to fuel his Growth Energizer and thereby hatch out his dinosaur eggs into an unstoppable army, were really straining to see from the corners anything that might present itself and give him an idea of what Mike's project was...

"Oops! Sorry, Leo!" Mike, grabbing the notebook before Leo could open it, grinned. "Top Secret, you know. I can't show anyone, not even you."

Leo looked hurt. Mike couldn't show him? Or wouldn't show him?

_'Kick, down up, step behind, seisan-- Punch punch--'_

"But why not?" he asked, making every attempt to let Mike see how hurt he was by this reluctance. "I thought you could tell me anything. Remember a few weeks ago, when you broke that... whatever it was that Don was working on but he didn't know it yet, and you were so upset you couldn't even say anything to Splinter. Yet you told me."

"Well... that's true," Mike admitted. "You are easy to talk to. Sometimes."

"Right," Leo vigorously nodded, generously ignoring the "sometimes". He placed a brotherly hand on his otouto's shoulder. "Even though I told you you should tell Don and Splinter, I helped you fix that... thingie... and I never told on you, 'cause I gave you my word."

Mike nodded in agreement.

"True. You always keep your word. You didn't tell on me," Mike said thoughtfully. Then his eyes narrowed. "You DID, however, make enough noise to get us caught, so I got punished anyway."

"I had to do flips, too."

"I had to clean the dojo for a week and do all of Don's chores AND do flips. Nope. I'm sorry, Leo, but this is just Too Important for you to know about."

And he sat on the notebook while he enjoyed the rest of the show where Spidey and Iceman try to rescue Firestar from Kraven only to be captured themselves, forcing Firestar to do Kraven's bidding in order to save her friends...

Leo briefly considered changing the channel so Mike would miss the rest of the show, but he decided that was too beneath a (future) Leader. He wandered away towards his room. He had some time before his lessons with Master Splinter.

He needed a plan. And a Good (future) Leader knew how to make plans!

Fifteen minutes later found Leonardo sitting at the little desk he'd made for himself from an old wooden crate, checking and rechecking his List for Finding Out What Mike's Top-Secret Project Is.

There really wasn't much on it. In fact, pretty much beyond the title, there was only "ask him", crossed out, followed by "ASK him" with a double underline under the words. That, too, was crossed out.

His eyes strayed to his picture of Jiraiya, a ninja from one of his favorite Japanese folk tales (Jiraiya Goketsu Monogatari), searching for Inspiration.

He had gotten the picture from an old book Splinter had rescued from a burned-out library, trimming the edges where the flames had briefly licked them, and making the frame himself. He was very proud of it, though there were times when Mike would beg his Ani to "cover it up, I'm getting nightmares from it!"

Jiraiya was a ninja who could turn himself into a huge gigantic toad. His archenemy, Orochimaru, had mastered snake magic, and had preyed upon Jiraiya's friends the Toads. In the picture, he was in the process of slaying this huge snake.

"But I'm not looking to slay a huge snake," he said to the picture. "I'm just trying to find out what Mike is up to! Though it would be cool to become a toad... I could find out a lot... on second thought, maybe that wouldn't be good. Mike would try to keep me as a pet, and I don't think I'd like that... thought it would be cool to turn into a gigantic toad..."

And while he imagined himself morphing by magic into a huge gigantic ninja toad, fighting off hundreds of treacherous ninja snakes while the beautiful Princess Tsunade (who had mastered snail magic) looked on with admiration, his eyes strayed to the book _"The Art of War"._

Splinter had allowed him to keep it, and even though it was still hard to understand, Leo was beginning to learn things from it. Shaking off his daydream, he contemplated the tome before him.

"The first chapter** is** about planning," he mused. "But this isn't war; this is me trying to find out what Mike is up to."

He thoughtfully tapped his list.

"Nope... this IS war," he said, reaching for the book and opening to the first chapter.

" '_1. Sun Tzu said: The art of war is of vital importance_

_to the State.' _Well, not the State, perhaps..."

Leo carefully read the the first chapter, highlighting certain sections that seemed to fit his situation. When he finished and looked at what he'd marked, a smile of satisfaction came to his face and took up residence.

_18. All warfare is based on deception._

_19. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near._

Leo began to Plan. Soon his list held many scenarios, a veritable embarrassment of riches from which the young (Future) Leader had much to choose from.

**Plan number One: Kitchen Duty**

_24. Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected._

Leo was not one who seemed to enjoy his turn in the kitchen, but today he was eager to offer his father and brother a helpful hand as it were.

"I can't cook, but I could help get stuff," he said convincingly. "And I can wash up after you use each pan, then there won't be as many dishes after dinner."

Splinter cocked a suspicious eyebrow at the innocent face so earnestly peering up at him. His whiskers twitched, but he made no other editorial comments. He put Leonardo to work helping Michelangelo peel potatoes, while he got the ingredients for the potato and leek soup that was going to be dinner on this chilly fall evening.

"So, this sounds like a good soup," Leo commented nonchalantly as he carefully peeled the potato, dealing with the black spots while making sure he didn't leave more potato than peel in the sink.

"It should be!" Mike enthused, peeling two potatoes for every one of Leo's. The trickle of water running from the faucet to help rinse the potatoes splattered happily as the young turtle went about his job. "I found it in a magazine that got mixed in with some stuff for my project."

Leo, eyes stealing peeks to the right of him, saw the Object in Question sitting haphazardly on the small, cluttered countertop. It was only a foot or so away from his right elbow, so close and yet so far.

The smell of bacon filled the small kitchen with that delicious, mouthwatering scent, and Leo realized that Mike was telling him the ingredients and how they were "making due because we don't have all the ingredients, like we don't have leeks but we do have green onions--"

"I thought leeks and green onions were the same," Leo interrupted, carefully moving towards the notebook to make room for the chopping board that he and Mike were now going to chop up the potatoes on. He was so cool and collected that Mike had no hint of an idea about what was going to happen.

"Naw-- two different things! I mean, sure, it's kind of like an onion, but more like garlic I think. Anyway, Sensei couldn't find any leeks so we had to improvise. But it'll still be good!"

Leo, chopping the potatoes with his brother, kept alert to the most appropriate moment when he could put his Plan into Action.

One of the lessons Splinter had taught them was to take something without being seen or detected-- literally snatching it in plain sight of others. It was a type of stealth lesson, and the boys had become so good at it that Splinter had had to make a rule that no one could practice it except in the dojo. Too many fights kept breaking out.

Donatello, while working on an invention, would suddenly find his tools missing. Raphael would discover that the toy motorcycle he was just using for his Mega-Race Course of Death and had set down for just a minute while he refilled the alligator pit with water and more bloodthirsty alligators (made cleverly from Popsicle sticks) had vanished mysteriously. Michelangelo's precious Mr. Growly had gone missing so many times that the turtle had had to temporarily banish the precious bear to his father's closet, well-protected and completely hidden from mean old meany-head brothers who were just plain mean.

As Mike went on about using vegetable oil 'cause there was no olive oil, and how they would have to thin out the chicken broth with water because they were pretty sure they didn't have enough chicken broth to make three cups, Mike got out the onion and began dicing away. He was completely absorbed in his work and did not notice that his precious Top Secret Project Notebook was about to be pilfered by his "trusted" brother.

Leo had mentally kicked himself for not trying it earlier when they were on the couch, but that was then and this is now. Leo would sneak that book away under his brother's and father's very noses!

Mike was still talking about the soup; perfect.

Leo's hand was almost on the notebook; his mind was on how and where he would secret it until he could sneak it out of the kitchen--

And then his eyes began to sting and tear up something fierce!

"Wheeew, that is one strong onion!" Mike had crowed, and, eager to share with Leo, he had reached over half of a huge onion and stuck it directly under Leo's snout. "Smell that! That's a good onion!"

"Gaaa--!"

The notebook and several other things on the counter clattered to the floor as Leo's questing hand reacted violently to his nose and eyes being attacked by the overpowering fumes of the huge onion his brother was "sharing" with him.

"Oh, sorry, Leo!" Mike smiled, putting the half-onion back on the chopping board and hastily picking up his notebook, which had spilled much of its contents.

"Let me help you," Leo struggled on, eyes still swollen by the fumes, tears streaming down his face no matter how much he tried to blink away the stinging sensation. Ack! It felt as if some of the juice had got in his eyes, they burned so badly!

Yet he blindly tried to help Mike "gather" up his papers, only to find himself putting hands on the other things that had fallen to the floor.

"I got it!" Mike cheerfully assured him, while Splinter took time from the cooking to get his son a cool wash rag.

Leo, blinking mightily against the lingering effects, could not see the notebook anywhere.

He DID see, however, a sort of knowing grin on his otouto's face. But that could have just been the effect of the onion on his vision.

"Go sit on the couch and keep your eyes covered with this for a few minutes," he ordered, and Leo was sent away (in defeat, though he was good about hiding that fact from them).

Plan number one had failed.

But he still had others.


	3. Chapter 3

_Hi, all! Sorry it's been so long! Hope this suits for the moment. _

_TMNT are the property of Mirage. I don't get anything from it except some satisfaction in writing my own little tales.  
_

**Stalking the Green-Eyed Monster**

_"Mike knows more than Leeeeooooo, Mike knows more than Leeeeooooo..."_

_Raph's snickering voice, cheerfully crowing the refrain over and over burned a hole in Leo's forehead, right between his eyes. He could feel it boiling up the resentment, the mortification, the anger--_

_-- the jealousy-- into a bubbling soup of Vengeance!_

_"Mike knows more than Leeeeooooo, Mike knows more than Leeeeooooo..."_

_Leo's ears began to sing like the tea kettle when it signals to Sensei that the water is ready to brew his morning's cup of fragrant pleasure._

_"Mike knows more than Leeeeooooo, Mike knows more than Leeeeooooo..." Raph kept jeering in that singsong way, and Don now joined in, dancing around their Ani as if he were a May Pole (whatever that was-- Leo still wasn't sure if that was a good analogy, but he didn't dare think "Indians around a bonfire", that would be considered Stereotypical, and Sensei had WARNED him about Stereotypical..._

_"Mike knows more than Leeeeooooo, Mike knows more than Leeeeooooo..."_

_Leo's anger was such that he was straining with all his might to contain it. Desperately he looked around the dojo for Sensei. Surely he was witnessing this desecration of his eldest-- I mean, the dojo! Surely he would step in and stop this. Surely he did not expect Leo to reprimand his brothers, not at least while Sensei was present!_

_Surely--_

_"Michelangelo, my son," Sensei's voice sounded out of nowhere, "You have today surpassed your Ani in training. You have mastered that kata perfectly!"_

_Raph and Don interrupted their singing and dancing to cheer for Mikey. Then, with a grin more evil than the Grinch's in that Christmas cartoon, Raph continued his song with a slight variation. Don was quick to join in._

_"Mike is **better** than Leeeeooooo, Mike is **better **than Leeeeooooo..."_

_"No he ISN'T!" the young (Future) Leader shouted, and launched simultaneous kicks at both sneering and jeering brothers----_

THUNK!

Leo sat up on the floor, blankets and sheets entangling him, pillow (mercifully) lying in a way to suggest that his head had much to thank it for. The soft glow of the night light helped to calm his racing heart. Gentle breathing (and the occasional snore from Raph) told him that the others were sound asleep, and no one had heard him fall out of the bed.

The door opened with a whisper, and the flickering light of Sensei's candle faintly illuminated the Tangle that was Leo even more. _Well, almost no one_.

"Are you all right, my son?" Splinter's whisper was full of concern. Leo wasn't fooled, Splinter thought--

_No, wait, that was just a dream..._

"Yes, Father," he whispered his reply, getting up before Splinter could assist him. "Sorry, Father, I was dreaming about... about... being in a tournament... and I was fighting the champion... and I had won!"

And he innocently accepted Splinter's help in getting his bedding back in order.

"Well, then, if it was as you say, pleasant dreams," Splinter said as Leo settled back into bed. Then he was gone, leaving Leo to Think Upon the Evilness of Brothers in General and Michelangelo in Particular.

Earlier that night, while Mike had been preparing for his Bath Ritual (as Splinter once termed it, under his breath in a way that he thought no one had heard), Leo had been skimming through his "Art of War" and making notes here and there on his List for Finding Out What Mike's Top-Secret Project Is.

_17. According as circumstances are favorable, _

_ one should modify one's plans._

"Yes, I definitely need to modify a few of these," he mused, tapping the pencil thoughtfully on the notebook. He turned back to the list, steadfastly ignoring the cross-outs (he shunned the eraser-- after all, one might need the crossed-out ones later for something else. That's what Sun Tzu said. Well, that's how Leo interpreted it, anyway). Leo looked at his book.

_20. Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder,_

_ and crush him._

_Hmm.... Mike HAS been wanting a skateboard... and Don owes me a Big Favor... hmmm..._

_21. If he is secure at all points, be prepared for him._

_ If he is in superior strength, evade him._

Leo snorted in disbelief at that one. No way was Mike in superior strength. Who did he constantly go to for help with opening pickle jars and mayonnaise jars and sauerkraut jars and...

_Duh, he goes to Raph, genius_ Leo's inner voice replied.

Leonardo, with great dignity for a 10-year-old, ignored his inner voice.

_22. If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to_

_ irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant._

Ha! Speaking of Raph, this was the perfect one for their next match in the dojo. Leo made a few quick notes on a clean sheet of paper, punctuating his plans for Raphael with many "ha!"s and "yeah!"s.

Then he got back to Mike. He expanded his Search for Wisdom to Chapter VI.

**_WEAK POINTS AND STRONG_**

_1. Sun Tzu said: Whoever is first in the field and_

_ awaits the coming of the enemy, will be fresh for the fight;_

_ whoever is second in the field and has to hasten to battle_

_ will arrive exhausted._

_2. Therefore the clever combatant imposes his will on_

_ the enemy, but does not allow the enemy's will to be imposed on him._

"For cripe's sake, Mike, will ya get in there and take yer bath so's I can finally have MINE? An' DON'T use up all the hot water!"

"Raphael, do not shout."

"Sorry, Sensei, but he's takin' so long an' he hasn't even got to take any clothes off or nothin'."

"I'm almost finished," Mike's faint reply reached Leo's ears. After dinner Mike had gone with much ceremony to the dojo (!) with his notebook "for some privacy so I can work on my Top Secret Project", to which Raph had earned ten more flips for his reply of "Who gives a damn?"

Evidently he'd been in there longer than Leo had thought. He had little time.

**Plan Number Two-- Bath Time**

Stealthily he entered the bathroom, surveying the battle field. Cupboard? Nope, Mike would never put the notebook there, and they'd all been warned (repeatedly) to never hide in that old thing. Splinter had been pleased when he'd found it, as it gave him some extra space for the towels and other bathroom supplies. But he had grown tired of picking the lock to free careless sons who had either trapped themselves or each other ("Accidentally, Sensei, I SWEAR!") in it while hiding, and had threatened that next time he would leave whomever in there until he himself was calm enough to NOT "spank the green off of your tails" once freed. Even Raph had stopped hiding in there.

The tub was large and not close to the wall. He could try hiding in that corner. Mike was usually too preoccupied with searching out just the right toys to accompany him in the bath to pay much attention. Towels usually ended up stored there when the hamper was too full (or the turtle was too lazy). He could hide there under some towels!

But how would he get out? It's a tight squeeze, and he needed to be stealthy as well as quick.

The hamper? Nope, he'd grown too big to hide in it any longer. But piled near it were some towels that were awaiting washing. The hamper was full of sheets at the moment.

Leo smiled in satisfaction, then quickly got to work.

"MIKEY!"

"All right, hothead, I'm goin' I'm goin'."

Michelangelo came strolling in, bulging notebook under one arm, and closed the door. Carefully he placed his precious book on the ledge of the sink while he turned on the water in the tub. Then he shed his gear (He was geared up? For studying?), strewing it carelessly here and there, and began to search out some toys for his bath.

"Sensei, can I have a bubble bath tonight?" he called out, still rummaging through the box that held all of their most precious and favoritest bath mates.

"No!" Raph's voice replied, " 'cause you use too much and then it takes too long to clean the bathroom!"

"Raphael!" came the sharp reprimand. Then, "Not tonight, my son. And do not take too long, I want you all in bed early tonight."

Mike shrugged an "ah well" shrug, then gathered his armful of friends and ceremoniously dumped them into the almost-filled tub. Then his eyes scanned the bathroom. For some reason he kept looking at the pile of laundry lying next to the hamper. It seemed... oh, I don't know... larger than it was earlier when he was in there for Other Business.

He turned back to the notebook.

"Now, where shall I put you?" he mused aloud. "I don't want you to get wet, but I don't want to put you in my room. Leo's been awfully nosey lately... and Raph threatened to toss you in the sewer if I mentioned you one more time. Maybe Don would take care of you? Nope, he's too curious, he'd probably look in to see if there were any good ideas for inventions."

He looked around again, then grinned.

"I know! I'll put you in the toy box under Raph's shark toy and Don's racing boat that doesn't float! Then you'll be safe there, under all that stuff, with the box under the sink!"

And without another word, he was in the tub, sloshing water onto the floor and the pile of towels as well.

"Okay, guys! Let's get started!" he addressed three rubber ducks, two tugboats, a plastic fish that could squirt water, He-Man™, Skeletor (also™), and a hand puppet/washcloth in the shape of an octopus. "Tonight's adventure: The Gigantic Octopus of Doom!"

And the theme music began, as well as the story of how the innocent ducks were being terrorized by the Gigantic Octopus of Doom, which had been set loose on the Unsuspecting World by Skeletor™, and He-Man (again, also ™) had to battle it with his Squirting Fish of Victory...

Leonardo, under the increasingly soaking towels, was becoming more and more miserable. Terry cloth towels that are wet become heavy, and the chill of the clammy, drippy things crowded down on the back of his neck and into those miserably hard to reach places between shell and skin.

"Look out, Squirting Fish!" Mike shouted in his hero voice. "Don't let Skeletor cast his spell upon you!"

"Too late, He-Man!" he now imitated the evil villain, voice nasally and punctuated with Evil Laughter. "Now the fish does MY bidding!"

Leo's snout tickled as if sneezes were lining up to make their escape from the smell of the dank towels. More water seemed to find its way onto the towels and slowly down to Leo. It wouldn't be so bad if the water would have been warm, but by the time it got to the hidden turtle it was cold cold cold! Leo shivered under the heavy load, and longed for Mike to get on with it.

"No, He-Man!" Mikey's voice interrupted the thoughts of Leo. "Do it like this: 'Kick, down up, step behind, seisan-- Punch punch-- Down-- Up, double strike-- Down and strike-- Right seisan, block-- Punch punch turn-- Punch punch--' Hey! Did you guys hear something?"

Mike froze in the tub, searching out the steamy room. He could have sworn he'd heard a Sound. Just exactly what that sound was he couldn't tell, but he knew he'd heard Something. Warily he eyed the cupboard, then the hamper, and finally the large and soggy pile of towels. Belatedly he realized that there was an oozy puddle seeping from the pile, and wondered if he could wring them all out before Sensei found out he'd soaked them through and through...

Then the battle resumed between the good guys and the bad guys and Leo breathed a SILENT sigh of relief. When Mike had started speaking out the steps to what Leo knew was a kata he'd never heard of before, his surprised gasp had escaped him before he could stop it.

But he had to wait it out. Soon Mike would turn on the water again to replace what he'd used during "battle", and there'd be that one moment where the Evil Bad Guy would squirt soap in Mike's eye (no matter what the story, the Evil Bad Guy would always squirt soap in Mike's eye. Even Don couldn't figure that one out, and he was the smartest of them all.). Then, undercover of the steamy fog plus the splashing cries of a brother who feared permanent blindness and then how would he get around unless Sensei let him have a Seeing Eye Dog, he could crawl along the floor, slip the notebook from its hiding place and escape to his room, unseen and silent and--

"Aww, PLEASE, Sensei!" Raph's voice sounded just outside the door. "He's gonna start the second act any minute, and I'll NEVER get to take a hot bath tonight, and I really want to get this gunk offa me from the junk yard!"

"Michelangelo," Splinter entered the bathroom after a small knock. "It is time you were out of that tub. Your brothers are waiting."

"Okay, Sensei, sorry Sensei," Mike, fish toy filled with soapy water and just about to do his evil master's bidding in blinding the turtle, quickly rinsed off and pulled the plug.

As Splinter was about to leave, his eyes noted the now shivering pile of soaking wet towels. Leo had grown so cold under those wet things that he couldn't control his tremors, and between that and his cursing his own bad luck, he was not being stealthy enough to escape his father and sensei's notice.

"Leonardo, I want you to put those towels in the washing machine, then go to bed." And he left without a further word.

Mike looked with "surprise" as the failed (for the moment) young (Future) Leader emerged from the soggy pile, looking as if he, too, was fresh from the tub.

"Why, Leo! What were you doing in here?" Mike demanded. "You weren't trying to get my Top Secret Notebook, were you?"

"Of course not!" Leo scoffed loftily. "I was practicing my hiding and endurance skills."

"Under all them towels."

"Yes. It was the perfect place. I can see us being able to use this-- once I've mastered it."

Mike, in the midst of drying himself, cocked an eye at his Ani.

"You can see us using this? What, are we gonna infiltrate an enemy's bathroom?"

Leo merely shook his head and sighed. He staggered slightly under the weight of the soaking wet towels.

"This is why you will never be a Leader, Michelangelo," he said. "You have to be prepared for **any** situation."

And he left a dripping trail to the washing machine.

Mike smiled, then, collecting his Top Secret Project, headed to their room, followed down the hall by Raphael's comments of "Jeeze, it's about time, and you'd better of not used up all the hot water, or I'm so gonna pound ya!"

ooooOOOOOOOooooooOOOOOOOoooooooOOOOOOOooooo

Leo, lying there in the dark, wondered if it really was worth the effort. Splinter had not questioned his actions, and Mike seemed to have believed his explanation.

_But really, was all this planning worth it? Was it really worth the time and effort to find out what Mikey's stupid old top secret project really was? So what if it sounded like a kata I've never heard of before? Big deal! Mike probably is getting a punishment and he's just pretending that it's something top secret. He's probably been made to copy kata instructions a thousand times or something, only he's got them all messed up and out of order. That's it! Mike is just doing lines for some sort of punishment, like not knowing his basics yet!_

And then he remembered what Mike had said earlier:

_"No, He-Man! Do it like this: 'Kick, down up, step behind, seisan-- Punch punch-- Down-- Up, double strike-- Down and strike-- Right seisan, block-- Punch punch turn-- Punch punch--' "_

Leo sat up in bed, fists tight on his blanket, as the realization hit him full-force: Mike WAS learning a new kata! Splinter was TEACHING Mike a KATA!

Mike was trying to take over as **LEADER**!

_TBC_


	4. Chapter 4

_A special shout-out to Buslady for helping me out with a punishment!_

_I've managed to crawl out from under the writer's block that was resting on me._

_TMNT are not mine. Yet._

**Stalking the Green-Eyed Monster**

_17. According as circumstances are favorable,_

_one should modify one's plans._

_18. All warfare is based on deception._

_19. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable;_

_when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we_

_are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away;_

_when far away, we must make him believe we are near._

_SUN TZU ON THE ART OF WAR_

The next few days were incredibly busy for the (future) Leader. Plans were made and revised; supplies were gathered. Improvisations were necessary and plentiful but very creative. Days on his little homemade calendar were secretly and dutifully ticked off until he had reached Today, circled with many bright blue circles!

Today was The Day!

Leonardo could not wait!

During training Leo kept up such a nonchalant attitude towards Mike's super secret notebook that he almost smirked at his brother's attempts to draw his attention to it.

"Leonardo, why are you smirking?"

_GULP!_

"Sorry, Sensei!" he hastily bowed, embarrassment replacing the evidently non-nonchalant look he'd been wearing.

But he did keep a careful eye nonetheless on Michelangelo. Ever since coming to the realization that his brother was attempting overthrow him and take his place as (future) Leader, Leonardo had gone out of his way to make sure Splinter did not have any doubt as to WHO was better suited to that Important Position.

"Say, Sensei," Leo innocently began one day after training was over and he stayed behind (as usual) to put away the equipment that precise, meticulous way that Splinter approved of, "I was thinking... maybe it's time I learned a new kata or two."

Leo saw his sensei and father raise an eyebrow at such a presumption and swallowed just a bit hard. _"It is up to the Sensei to decide when the Student is ready"_ came echoing into his memory after Raph, over a year ago, had insisted that _"this kindergarten stuff is borin' an' I'm ready to learn somethin' NEW!"_

The only new thing Raphael learned that day was how to scrub the toilet with a toothbrush. Of course, that had led to **more** trouble (_"You didn't say WHOSE toothbrush to use"_), and Raph had had to eat his meals standing up for the next two days.

Seeing that Splinter's eyes were still on him, he hastily revised the rest of his statement.

"I mean, if you think I'm ready," he said, making an extra show of straightening up. "I'm not presuming to know more than yo-- than the others, but maybe I could.. um, you know... have a few extra lessons? If you think I'm ready, that is?"

And he gave Splinter his very bestest bow.

"We will discuss it later, my son," Splinter finally replied. "I must prepare breakfast now." And Leonardo dutifully bowed his sensei and father out of the dojo, then followed him into the kitchen to Be of Service as a good (future) Leader should.

ooooOOOOOOOooooooOOOOOOOoooooooOOOOOOOooooo

Later, Leonardo was in "his" (for the moment) room, going over his plans and supplies. After lunch was an entire afternoon that was usually devoted to the four of them playing or pursuing their own interests. Don would no doubt stay inside and work on his Major Experiment. Raph was grounded to the lair, so he wouldn't be able to join Leo on his little "trip". And Michelangelo?

Today was Michelangelo's "Secret Hiding Place" day, where he would head for one of his many favorite hangouts and spend a few hours doing Michelangelo stuff (i.e., things he normally did at home like reading comics or making art-- only it was more cooler when he'd do it Somewhere Else).

All of these locations were clearly marked on Splinter's large map. When the rat had first insisted on noting these places down, Michelangelo had protested that to do so would then make them NOT secret. Splinter had had a bit of a struggle getting the information; his son was adamant!

"But if we don't know where they are," Donatello had pointed out, "then how can we avoid them?" to which, after a moment of thought, Mike thereupon carefully marked eleven bright red "MSHPSA*" s on the map.

Leo, busy with his preparations, found himself thinking of Sun Tzu's Words of Wisdom.

_18. All warfare is based on deception._

_19. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable;_

_when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we_

_are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away;_

_when far away, we must make him believe we are near.'_

"Well, Michelangelo, today I will make you believe I am far away. But I will be nearer than you think!"

Before Leo on the floor was his _shinobi shozoko_, carefully and lovingly put together by himself after long hours of devoted research and much scrounging. True, it wasn't a REAL _shinobi shozoko_ like in the movies he'd committed to memory, but it was Close Enough.

Black pants-- made of denim, slightly large, and the legs had been too long until he'd carefully cut them to the proper length. AND he had managed to score some black yarn to tie them off at the bottom in order to keep them from dragging (and hide any ragged irregularity in their look).

Tabi-boots-- these he really was proud of, he'd made them mostly himself out of black socks and the soles of old torn up tennis shoes! It had taken a lot of work and effort. In the end he'd had to swallow his pride and solicit some wise and much-needed help from Splinter (who had wondered at his son's need for such things, but had helped Leonardo without prying). But they looked beautiful!

Black top-- an overlarge black sweatshirt. Leo had scrounged what material he could from the old clothes box in order to make pockets. After all, a _shinobi shozoko_ had many many pockets inside and out, made to carry all the small tools and weapons a ninja needed, such as poison, shuriken, knives and so on.

Unfortunately there was little in the box that was black except for some old socks and the remnants of the pants he'd trimmed off. The inside pockets ended up being made from a flowery apron, a worn yellow baby blanket that was covered with duckies (he hoped Don didn't find out), and some mismatched mittens. The outside pockets he made of the old socks (having jabbed himself too many time with the needle trying to sew that heavy jeans material into pocket shapes). But it looked Beautiful.

His only problem was the hood/mask. He had a ski-mask that was dark red. It fit perfectly, but no amount of coloring on it with a black magic marker, or soaking it in a mixture of water and some of Mike's precious black watercolor paint could change its color. His plan was to leave the blue bandana behind and wear this instead, but it just wasn't working out.

Inspiration hit. Sneaking into Mike's art supplies, he retrieved another black magic marker and a tube of black ink (used for printing evidently. Leo wished he'd seen this the other day instead of the useless watercolor paint... oh well, next time). Plan B: he'd paint his face black, and wear his very dark blue wooly cap that he usually wore when scavenging with Splinter!

NOW to fill the pockets!

He studied his array of ninja supplies and weapons.

_Ashiko_-- check!

Well, they weren't real _ashiko_, more like old cleats that Splinter would attach to the bottom of his boots in winter to keep from slipping on the ice when topside, but they'd be perfect for climbing the walls if needed. And since it hadn't been cold enough for snow and ice, he was sure Splinter wouldn't mind if he borrowed them for the day.

_Shuriken-_- check!

Not real ones, however-- though Splinter was teaching them in the dojo how to throw them, he did not allow anyone to carry them outside of the home. However, Leonardo, being a resourceful (future) Leader, had managed to collect a supply of his own-- chiefly old metal bottle caps, weighted with small rocks carefully glued to the inside, but serviceable when scaring rats out of his way while in the sewers.

_Fukiya_-- check!

It had been one of his lucky finds-- a hollow, broken piece of bamboo, found on one of his trips to the junk yard. He'd originally thought he could turn it into a traditional Japanese flute, but quickly gave up after smacking his thumb with a hammer in an attempt to put the first hole in it, and settled for sanding down the ends and converting it into a _fukiya_. He had no darts, but he'd learned to pelt his brothers with a rapid fire assault of spitballs (until Splinter banned that particular ammunition under the edict that it was disgusting and unworthy of a warrior). He soon found that he could make his own _metsubishi_ as long as Splinter didn't think he was wasting all the pepper and toilet paper in the house.

_Shuko_-- check!

(more ice cleats-- you work with what you got.)

_Kusuribin_-- double check!

Extra-large old Band-Aids™ metal box, filled with Band-Aids™, a half-empty tube of antiseptic cream, iodine (for REAL emergencies), and a few precious sticks of gum. Every ninja needs a first-aid kit!

Tanto-- extra-special mega-triple check!

YES! A tanto-- a real honest to goodness tanto!

Splinter had managed to procure four of them and had, with much ceremony, presented each of them on their ninth birthday with their very own personal weapon. True, he'd also started them on real weapons in the dojo, but those were a definite NO-NO outside that place unless Splinter took them somewhere special. But he had allowed each of them to have a tanto!

As they grew older and were allowed to roam farther, Splinter had deemed it wise that they have some small extra protection. They had learned very strict rules about the use of such things-- they were not to be thrown at anything or anyone including annoying little brothers, they were not to be used to kill anything even big old scary nasty sewer roaches, and they were not to be used to carve "Raphael was here!" all over anything that could be cut by them.

As Leo carefully and lovingly placed the weapon into the small backpack along with his outfit and supplies, he felt as if he would burst from Pride.

He was Ready for Anything.

Especially Michelangelo the Usurper!

ooooOOOOOOOooooooOOOOOOOoooooooOOOOOOOooooo

**Plan Number Three-- Follow the (Wannabe) Leader**

"Sensei," he said, slinging the pack on his back. "I'm going on a training run. May I go as far as the old drainage junction today?"

Splinter eyed the map as Leonardo pointed to his "destination". It was a very far distance from the Lair, but the route would be one that few if any humans had been in for long years. And Leonardo had been there before with Splinter and the others, so he would not get lost.

He considered the hopeful expression of his son.

"Very well, but stick to the usual route. And I must insist that you be back in plenty of time for dinner," he gave permission. "Do you go alone?"

"Well, I was going to invite Raphael, but as he's grounded," Leo said, trailing off with a shrug. Inside he was thinking _Please don't send him please DON'T send him._

Splinter nodded and said no more.

"Thanks, Sensei!"

Then he cheerfully and pointedly informed all three of his brothers (while steadily NOT looking at Mike) that he was "off to the old drainage junction for a training run. Try to stay out of trouble while I'm gone" to which Raphael earned twenty flips with a "get the hell outta my way yer blockin' the tv".

Whistling cheerfully, he exited the lair, and vanished as quickly from sight as possible, all the while keeping the door of the lair well within sight. Quickly and silently he dressed himself in the _shinobi shozoko_. He pulled the tube of black ink from the bag, regretting that he'd chosen a section of the tunnel that was very dark. He should have brought a _gando _with him, or at least a flashlight. But he would manage in the dark, as he squeezed a generous amount of the soft substance into his hand and began to apply it as best he could to his face. Absently he wiped his hands on his pants, eyes still on the front door.

As he pulled his dark blue cap onto his head, the door opened, and Mike's "see you later, Sensei!" echoed slightly into the tunnel. Then the young turtle, a pack on his back and his Annoyingly Tempting Secret Notebook firmly under one arm, headed in the same direction as Leo!

It took all of Leonardo's Strength of Character to NOT grin in triumph. This would be easy.

He faded well back into the shadows, no sound escaping him, as his brother passed by him unawares, humming some cartoon theme and occasionally kicking some stray rock into the adjoining channel, where the satisfying "splash" was the cheerful reply.

Leonardo, clinging to the shadows, silently moving as if he were nothing more than a shadow, followed at a safe distance.

Considering the noise Mike made, it would be safe for Leo to lose sight of him. He shook his head at his brother's carelessness, though to be fair, no human would probably had heard him. It wasn't like he was stomping through the tunnels, bellowing out "He-MAN-duh-DUUUH-de-duhduhduh-DUH! He-MAN!--" as he went. But to Leonardo's (future) Leader ears, he might as well have been.

Making yet another mental note to take his younger brother aside later and offer to work with him on his stealth, Leo followed Mike quite a long and winding distance. He kept a check on his landmarks, however-- if it appeared that the young turtle were going in Directions Not Condoned by Splinter, he would have to reveal himself for Mike's own good-- though it would pretty much ruin HIS plans.

Still, when one is a (future) Leader, one must be prepared to--

It suddenly occurred to Leo that Mike wasn't singing any longer. In fact, he couldn't see Mike at all. For a very brief moment panic threatened to swell up underneath his plastron, but then the soft slithery sound of a rope being tossed through the air oriented Leo's eyes to a shadowy area, where he could see Michelangelo tossing what appeared to be a grappling hook above his head towards a large tangle of pipes.

Mike had a _kaginawa_ ? How comes he didn't know this?

Boy some brothers...

On the third try, it hooked, and after a few satisfying tugs to make sure it would support him, Michelangelo climbed up into the darkness and vanished.

Leo counted to five then made for the rope-- only to hastily retreat to the shadows once again as it began to ascend into the darkness. Mike was not leaving anything to chance, apparently.

But Leo was not deterred. He knew that Secret Hiding Place number seven-- the Loft of Solitude-- was situated in a minor tunnel that was blocked at one end. The entrance was just to the right and a bit lower than the tangle of pipes Mike had vanished into.

Pulling his _shuko_ and _ashiko_ from an outer pocket, Leonardo prepared to scale the wall. He would be able to reach the pipes from where he was, then work his way closer to the entrance, where he could spy on super secret Michelangelo and his super secret plans to take Leo's place as Leader!

Climbing aids in place, Leo proceeded to follow in the footsteps (or rather, _shuko/ashiko_ steps) of countless ninja before him.

Fifteen minutes later he'd finally managed to get about three to four feet off the floor. By then the sound of his brother lowering the rope from above sent him into near-panic! He didn't dare move. It had taken him some time to get the sharpened cleats to hold onto the slimy, slightly crumbling walls without making any noise whatsoever. Then it had taken all his determination to NOT shout out when the first three times he fell on his shell, freezing after each incident, wondering if Mikey had heard anything, fighting valiantly to NOT sneeze when the dust he'd stirred up invaded his nasal passages.

And now when he was finally managing to support his weight via his desperately tiring hands and sweating in their tabi-booted prison feet, grimy and sticky and biting his lip to keep from swearing in English and Japanese, his brother was leaving?

Leo clung to the wall, hidden by the dark, and waited, praying to his ancestors (if he had any; he didn't really know, but it always sounded so cool in all those movies) that he would not be discovered.

Luck and his ancestors (if he had any) were both with him-- Mike slid down the rope, and with a few deft flicks dislodged the grappling hook, then started on his merry way down a side tunnel.

Leo released himself from the wall, landing softly as a ninja should. Shedding his climbing tools, he hastened to catch up to his brother, more determined than ever to discover just what Mike was up to.

Mike might have escaped him for the moment, but Leo would not rest until he succeeded.

That is what (future) Leaders do!

_tbc_


	5. Chapter 5

_This is a very long chapter but I just don't think I can split it properly._

_Ninja Turtles are ™ and © by Mirage. I am ™ and © by myself._

**Stalking the Green-Eyed Monster**

_IV. TACTICAL DISPOSITIONS_

_1. Sun Tzu said: The good fighters of old first put_

_themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then_

_waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy._

_2. To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our_

_own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy_

_is provided by the enemy himself._

_3. Thus the good fighter is able to secure himself against defeat,_

_but cannot make certain of defeating the enemy._

_4. Hence the saying: One may know how to conquer_

_without being able to do it._

_Sun Tzu, The Art of War_

Leonardo was certainly getting his fair share of stalking practice in today. So far he had trailed his brother to three of his eleven secret hiding places. First had been The Loft of Solitude (where Leo had earned many a scraped knuckle and a sore tail to boot trying to scale the wall), followed by The Cave of Solitude (another old, abandoned side-tunnel, again sealed off at one end, but thankfully no climbing was involved-- however, there was an abundance of cobwebs in the dark, and Leo had nearly had a Raph-like reaction after walking face-first into at least twenty-seven of them within a matter of seconds). Now their journey led them to the Pool of Solitude.

The Pool of Solitude was located in a section of the old old really old subway system, in what used to be a station waiting room. Extremely dimly lit by a few lucky sunbeams that managed to slip through the filthy unseen windows from far above, plus the odd electric light that still miraculously worked, it was all dust and rubble and rust and broken furniture and neglect and crumble and decay-- in other words, the bestest playground around!

There had been a fountain at one time, and though it no longer worked, it had still managed to remain filled with relatively clean water.

Splinter had found it years ago, and with great effort had made the place safe for four curious turtle-tots. Then he had taken them all there when they were just three and taught them to "swim".

Now it was known as Secret Hiding Place Number Four (as marked on Splinter's map). There were many good dark and sheltering places for a ninja to take advantage of, and Leo did just that, taking refuge behind what used to be an information counter, as Mike settled in for a vigorous session of "Secret Agent Mikey: Hero of the United States of America".

For the life of him, Leo could not figure out how Mike had developed such a vivid and varied imagination. From superhero to secret agent to damsel in distress (don't ask), Michelangelo was never at a loss for story ideas. It puzzled them all greatly.

_I mean, we all make up stuff, but Mike is .... well... EXTRA-good at it. Why is that?_

Donatello, reading a book about some great leader named Churchill, once said that Mike was like Russia; he was a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.

Leo still wasn't sure what that implied, but Splinter had evidently thought that Donatello had said Something Clever, for he had chuckled for many minutes afterwards while rewarding the brainy turtle with a gold star "for extra-credit".

Leo had wasted no time in reading **that** book once Don was finished.

Mike, meanwhile, pulled from a "locker" (i.e. a box under one of the many broken chairs that littered the place) an old, oversized coat (his trench coat as he called it, but it was more like a sports jacket, and a really ugly black and gray zigzaggy-patterned one at that) and a man's brown business hat, one that looked like those worn by actors in those old detective movies that Splinter liked to watch. He'd had to partially stuff it with old newspaper so it wouldn't cover his eyes, but soon it was nicely settled on his head at a jaunty angle, brim pulled low to one side so he would Look Mysterious. Once dressed, he then pulled out from its hiding place a beat-up suitcase.

Leo, from his dusty hiding place, watched as Mike took the toy handcuffs that had been Raph's (_ah-HA! I KNEW it was Mike who took them! Well, Raph shouldn't have kept chaining Mike to the bunk bed, but really, that's no excuse to **steal **from your brothers..._) and attached them first to the handle of the case, then to his own wrist.

"And now," came Mike's trademark announcer voice, "it's time for 'Secret Agent Mikey: Hero of the United States of America! Tonight's Episode is-- The Terror Train From Prague'."

_Prague? **Prague? **Mike pays attention during geography lessons?_

"When we last left our hero, he was deep inside Prague, guarding the tiptop Secrets of the United States of America from the Enemy, and trying to catch the Terror Train from Prague back to New York City."

_Nope-- apparently not._

Mike soon was deep into his game of Mystery and Intrigue, trying to keep the tiptop Secrets of the United States of America safe from the Enemy (whomever they were; Leo, eyes on the notebook, soon lost interest, though he suspected that the names "Natasha" and "Boris" had come from the "Bullwinkle©" show).

The Notebook sat on one of the rare upright lobby chairs. One of the few overhead lights that still were working, despite the fact this place had been abandoned, seemed to bathe the book in a welcoming "HERE IT IS" glow, guiding Leonardo towards it even as Secret Agent Mikey was doing kick-splits, back-flips, double punches, diving behind subway columns, and wiping out dozens of the bad guys with his Super Agent Skills, while blocking a gazillion gunshots with his bulletproof suitcase-- all accompanied by some weird and loud theme song of the turtle's making.

Leo crawled from his counter to a large pile of broken, crumbled tiles near the wall (remnants of a once beautiful wall mosaic-- Leo's eye was briefly distracted by a particularly brilliant and intact square of blue-- into one of his many pockets it went), then to the back of what once might have been a newspaper stand. He slipped from one shadow to the other, occasionally lying flat on the floor or blending into the background whenever Mike's game directed his line of sight in Leo's direction.

It wasn't easy. Leo felt more than once a sharp stab of pain in his hands as they accidentally encountered some errant piece of broken glass or other sharp object. But Leo was a (future) Leader, and (future) Leaders ignore pain. He kept one eye on Mike, and one on the Notebook, drawing closer and closer to his goal.

_Sun Tzu said: The good fighters of old first put_

_themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then_

_waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy._

Leo had definitely put himself beyond the possibility of defeat-- and Mike was certainly giving his brother every opportunity of defeating him!

_Mere yards lay between Ninja-Master Leonardo and his Goal..._

Mike was now in a life or death struggle with Boris for the contents of the case. Both were teetering on the edge of the platform, and the train was coming.

"Zoon I weel have de zeecreets of your government, Zeecreet Agent Mikey!" "Boris" gloated, as he evidently got the upper hand on the helpless turtle.

_The guard was distracted; Ninja-Master Leonardo suspected that the Daimyo would have the careless fool's head by morning. Well, that is **his** Fate. Ninja-Master Leonardo gave him no further thought, focusing on his Most Important Task of all Important Tasks._

"No you won't, Boris old buddy!" Secret Agent Mikey triumphantly shouted, and with a mighty kick and a tug, he broke free of his nemesis.

"Oh NO! Zee Train!" cried out "Natasha". "Borrris, look out!"

_Closer... closer... the valuable manuscript would soon be in his capable hands; the Secrets of the Great Masters would be his and his alone, never to be looked upon by the Unworthy ever again...._

"AAAAAAAAUUUGHHHHH!!!!!" came the scream, followed closely by the noise of the train and the sobbing of the villain's girlfriend.

"Oooh! Borrris! BORRRIS! My LOVE! You have keeled him, Zeecreet Agent Mikey! My heart is broken!"

"That's what he gets for being an Enemy of this country," Mike said, removing the handcuffs from the case and his wrist, then snapping them down onto the "wrists" of the still sobbing Natasha.

_Roll... slitherslitherslitherslither... freeze... crawlcrawlcrawl... ouch... freeze... rollrollroll... ouchouch..._

"Once again, Secret Agent Mikey has saved the day," Michelangelo said in his deep narrator's voice. "The world can rest easy tonight."

He bowed to his own applause, thanking the crowds of well-wishers that filled his imagination.

_Ninja-Master Leonardo was mere inches from fulfilling his quest. He reached out, fingers almost caressing the royal (faded) blue silk (in his mind) covering of the Scroll..._

"No no, please-- you're embarrassing me," he said humbly. "I'm just an ordinary mutated American turtle, doing what any loyal mutated American turtle would do. No-- no-- Please! I'm not a genius. Well, maybe a little..."

Leo, now in position and hand reaching for the Notebook, spared his preening brother an incredulous look. He was actually blowing kisses now!

Leo rolled his eyes and shook his head.

_What an imagination...._

That brief hesitation was his lost chance. A dreaded sound startled them both at that moment:

"I'm tellin' ya, I heard someone scream," came faintly from one of the many dark and abandoned train tunnels.

"And I'm tellin' ya, it's all in yer head," was an equally frightening reply.

Mike wasted little time in stashing his gear and (snagging the notebook) blended into the blackest shadow he could find.

Leo had already rolled to a hiding place before Mike had finished undressing. Unfortunately, he'd not seen where his brother had vanished to.

The unmistakable sounds of approaching footsteps echoed up to the chamber, and soon Leo knew which tunnel the workers (for who else could they be?) would be exiting from.

Unfortunately (again), it was close to where Leo had chosen to hide.

Not that Leo was scared. They'd encountered the odd sewer, electrical, gas, and subway worker over the years, and had passed each challenge with flying colors.

(Well there was that one time when Raph, feeling rather bold, had actually walked up behind one particularly nervous guy who was complaining bitterly to his partner via radio why was it that HE had to come down in this dark smelly place full of all sorts of creepy things while the partner got to sit in the comfortable cab of the work truck, and tapped him on the back with an "Excuse me, Mister, but this is my HOME yer dissin'".

Raph still maintained that it was worth all the punishments Splinter dealt out over that incident, just for the memory of that guy's screaming and practically flying up that maintenance ladder. He'd even dropped his radio, for which Don had been extremely happy.

"Mask-wearin' WHAT?" had been the last sound they'd heard through it before they'd gotten out of range of the transmission.)

Two flashlights now pierced the gloom, and the two N.Y.C. Transit workers eventually entered the old room.

"Whew-- never been in this one before," the shorter of the two said, waving the light around with interest.

"How many of these are there?" the other wondered, joining his colleague in studying the place.

The first shrugged.

"Who knows, who cares? We're supposed ta be on the other level, checkin' that track."

Now the tall one shook his head.

"I know, but I'm tellin' ya, I heard someone scream."

"Maybe it was 'The Ghostbusters'," the short one snorted, turning already to return to work.

"C'mon, Lenny! Don't go yet! Let's check it out! Maybe there's a kidnapper hidin' down here, or terrorists or somethin'. We'll be heroes."

"I came with ya this far, and there's nothin'. And if there was a kidnapper or terrorists or somethin' hidin' down here, what we'd be is dead! I'm goin' back before the supervisor finds out we ain't on the job."

Leo started to breathe a sigh of relief, until he saw that the taller of the two was still advancing. He didn't focus on their parting conversation (peppered with the types of words that would have had Raph taking notes for future reference), but on the advancing flashlight.

Their beams had played over his hiding place behind the clutter of chairs and rubble and lumber that were clustered halfway between the old fountain and one rather intact wall. Between him and the fountain was the area where Mike had stashed his costume.

And to that position the man was slowly approaching. Something had caught the eye of the worker. Despite the faint light, the worker still used his flashlight as an anchor line, drawing to the spot where his eyes were fixed.

Leo glanced around, straining his eyes and ears for anything. A smile crossed his lips as the waving flashlight brushed a few times over a telltale signs of a burrow. It was against the wall just yards from his hiding place, just the right size, and close to the fountain.

The man had stopped moving/ He was standing exactly on the spot where Mike had stashed his clothes. Bending down, he retrieved a pair of handcuffs.

_Mike must have dropped them_ crossed Leo's mind even as he retrieved several of his shuriken from their pocket.

"These don't look like they've been here a hundred years," the guy mused to himself, holding them up and studying them in the light. Again he began to advance looking more sharply for anything that could be hidden.

_Wait for it.... wait for it...._

The man's footsteps now led him to a halfway point between Leo and the fountain. Leo smiled again.

_Wait..... for..... it....._

Just as the man was in the Right Spot, several shuriken shot from Leo's hand, straight at the burrow.

The pile of rubble exploded with rats!

The squeaks and squeals nearly overpowered the startled shriek of the worker and the brown furry mass of angry rats poured forth. He turned and ran as fast as he could before any of those "damn nasty flea-infested sons-of-bitches slimy germ-carryin' bastard furry freaking RATS" could get close to him.

Leo waited until the sound of the cursing faded into the distance.

The faint snicker of his brother replaced the cursing. Mike emerged from the shadows, laughing and tossing a few stones in his hand.

"Man, I knew those rats would be pissed, but Man! I didn't think I'd hit it that hard! Must of pinged one of them. Man! That was funny! Wish Raph coulda seen that."

And tossing the rocks to the ground, he turned on his heel and vanished up the tunnel.

Leo wasted no time in following, feeling just a bit disappointed. He was sure his shuriken had been the only reason those rats had been so angry. After all, he'd practiced so long and so often... HE had seen the burrow, had actively looked for such a thing!

And yet Mike had had the same idea?

_NO! I reject that. He might have had the idea, but look at the distance. NONE of his rocks could have made it that far. Nope, it was my shuriken and quick thinking and skill..._

And Leo hurried after his quarry, reassuring himself over and over that he had been the one to actually scare the worker away.

ooooooOOOOOOooooooOOOOOOooooooOOOOOOoooooo

Secret Hiding Place Number Nine: The Drainage Junction of Solitude.

Secret Hiding Place Number Three: The Hole in the Floor of the Storm drain of Solitude.

Secret Hiding Place Number Eleven: The End of the Huge Pipe that Looked Out Over the River of Solitude.

Leo was tired. Tired with a capital T.

He'd exhausted himself as well as his patience and his medical supplies.

His _kusuribin_ was now empty of bandaids, and at one point, when Mike was particularly busy dangling his legs out of the End of the Huge Pipe that Looked Out Over the River of Solitude, singing "Under the Sea©" from "The Little Mermaid©™" while leafing through his Notebook, he'd had to resort to the use of the dreaded Iodine.

The pain had been the fiercest he'd had to inflict upon himself. But he'd toughed it out bravely.

His feet, once proud to wear the tabi-boots, were now protesting loudly. They were hot and sweaty and blisters were beginning to anger them. They longed for fresh air and the feel of the cool water on their skin and not the damp irritating rub of canvas across their tops, nor the squishy-suctiony pull of the rubber bottoms on their own tender soles.

_This is stupid. All I'm doing is following Mike around. And all HE'S doing is playing his stupid games._

Leo watched as Mike gathered up his notebook. From the light filtering in through the opening, Leo could see that it was approaching sunset. Time to be heading back home.

He'd better move, try to get there before his brother...

But Mike, whistling another Disney song, turned in the exact opposite direction of home.

Leo blinked in the dark.

_What the...._

They'd been to all eleven of Mike's Super Secret Hiding Places today, he was CERTAIN of that!

Mike wasn't going home?

_What the..._

Leo followed the whistling through the dark, keeping his distance just enough to see Mike without being seen.

Left. Right. Right. The grading seemed to be going up, but Leo didn't stop to wonder why, he just kept his brother in sight, following with all the stealth he possessed.

Left. Left. Straight straight straight. And now Mike was slowing down. His whistling had stopped, and his enthusiasm seemed to be waning.

Mike paused, looked behind him.... hesitated... walked on... hesitated... turned to start back, then shook himself, turned, and walked on... hesitated....

Now an opening could be seen ahead. Leo, straining his eyes, could see that they were approaching an opening far in the distance; an opening that appeared to be partially covered.

"Come on, Mikester," the young turtle said in a sort of Raph-like sneer. "What are you afraid of? Splinter? He doesn't even know. Come ON, chicken-baby!"

Then he squared his shoulders and headed quickly up the tunnel and out of Leo's sight!

Leo wasted no time in getting to the end-- which was the rather large and heavily vine-covered opening into Central Park!

Leo had only been this way a few times with Splinter, never by himself!

_Topside! Topside with no Splinter! Ooooo Mike was sooo gonna get it...._

Leo without hesitation and full of Brotherly Righteousness, slid from the safety of the underground and into the Wide World of Central Park.

They were near the Turtle Pond!

No one was around; it was not quite sunset but getting there. The air was cold but there was no snow or rain in the forecast. Still, the usual visitors were not to be seen at the moment, though there were humans about. Leo could hear them faintly, and was certain he'd spot them before they'd spot him.

From his hiding place in the underbrush Leo watched in disbelief as Mike pulled from inside his notebook a large and folded plastic bag. He then carefully put his precious top secret book into the bag, sealed it tightly, and with a furtive look around, slid into the pond and vanished!

Leo's mind was crowded with all sorts of emotions and rules and orders and indignation and possible punishments. Without thinking he slid into the water himself, hidden by the reeds, and watched as Mike emerged from his chilly swim on the far side, well-screened by trees. He settled himself after shaking off what water he could, and grinned in triumph.

No one knew he had this Secret Hiding Place! He rarely came here-- well, he'd only come here once, actually, but still! It was his most prized and special of all his most prized and special secret hiding places! He hadn't even told Raph!

Leo, meanwhile, pulled his _fukiya_ from its place and, putting one end in his mouth, slid under the surface, blending in with the reeds along the shoreline, steadly making his way to the large cluster of water plants that partially screened Mike from view.

He didn't really need it to breathe with, being a turtle and all, but that's how Ninja do it, and Leo was a Ninja.

Soon he was there, peering at his brother.

_Note to self: denim gets really heavy when wet._

From his position in the reeds, Leo could see Mike thumbing through his super secret notebook, making check marks here and there, oblivious to the outside world.

_Boy, wait until Master Splinter finds THIS out! We're not to come here without him, and only at night! Michelangelo has definitely gone too far this time! I'll bet Splinter even takes away his private lessons and throws that dumb notebook away!_

As he gloated (in righteous indignation as a true, loving, yet protective future Leader should), the thoughts of what could happen to Michelangelo began to be crowded out by the voice of his father and sensei: _"And how do you know of this, my son?"  
_

Shoot.

If he told, then he'd have to tell **how** he knew about it.... which would probably land HIM in trouble as well.

_"You are the ani. You are supposed to keep your brother from getting into trouble. I rely on you for this."_

"Damn," he heard himself mutter-- then froze in shock, covering his mouth with one hand.

Mike stiffened, straining his ears, carefully blending into his background, searching for the human kid who must be close-by. He had heard the word.

"Time to go, Notey!" he whispered, and Leo was hard-pressed to follow. Working his way out of the huge turtle-pond, he felt as if he was carrying a hundred pounds of rocks. His outfit was soaked to the point of leaving a trailing stream of water behind him, a sort of "Leonardo was here and went this way!" marker to the World.

Fortunately the entrance to the tunnels was not too far, and very well-hidden. But Leo took no chances. He remained Vigilant, even as he strove to keep Michelangelo in sight.

Gaining the entrance, he blinked rapidly, trying to readjust to the relative darkness of the tunnel. Momentarily disoriented, he realized that he would just have to let Mike go and worry about getting home on time.

This day's plan had been a failure; not a complete and utter failure, he had learned one Very Important Thing today-- well, two, as he trudged through the tunnels in his soaking wet and clinging jeans-- but still, it had not ended as he had envisioned.

The faint sound of someone whistling the theme to "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe"© alerted him to the fact that his brother was in a position of regaining the lair before him.

_So what? Let him get home first. Big deal_ the pouty side of Leo said sulkily.

_Because, chucklehead, if HE gets home FIRST, then he has the advantage_ argued the sanctimonious side. _It gives him an unfair advantage of being home on time! YOU need to get there first and then you can be all "ah-HA! Where have YOU been? And why do you smell like pond scum?" and then Master Splinter will put two and two together and realize--_

_That we've BOTH been out of the sewers _the pouty side cleverly pointed out_. It'll be more like "Leonardo, why do you BOTH smell like pond scum? Have you been out of the sewers with your brother?" and THEN he'll go into that "you are the ani" speech. **Again**._

Leo made for home, mind working overtime. If he splashed through the drainage channel on the way home, he could wash off some of the traces of the pond. He'd still not smell good, but it should be good enough to keep Splinter from scenting where he'd been.

"And then he'll only smell that Mike was out of the sewers," he said to himself, as he began to race through the drainage channel, pretending that he was stealthily yet speedily chasing after Someone Bad whom had entered the darkness, looking for Trouble.

He rounded a corner of the junction and came to a screeching (yet extremely silent-- after all, they were all well-trained by the wise and knowledgeable Master Splinter) halt. Up ahead, splashing around under a fall of water coming from an overhead pipe, Michelangelo was laughing and singing, oblivious to anyone or anything else in the world.

_He's lucky I'm not a sewer worker._

The notebook was safely out of the way of any wetness, wedged between some pipes along the wall, partially in the dark, yet not completely hidden.

Mike was making so much noise that Leo was able to exit the channel and blend into the darkness, pressed against the wall, only yards away from the Object.

_The foolish guard was bathing in the waterfall, his weapons on the far bank, his back to Danger. With little trouble, Ninja-Master Leonardo made his way to the Scroll..._

... and brushed up against a really hot pipe!

Mike, not hearing or seeing a thing, finished his shower and retrieved the notebook. Then he headed home. It had been a very satisfying day.

Leo, finally free to move away from the treacherous hot pipe, tearfully rubbed his upper arm. Biting his lip, he tried to peer inside the neck of his outfit to see if he could assess the damage. The steam pipe had felt as if it were pressing against skin instead of the soaked material of his shirt. It's a wonder he didn't reveal himself, the pain had been Tremendous-- but as he moved on towards home, he began to feel a sense of pride.

He'd not given into the desire to cry aloud at the vicious owie-- He was Ninja!

Home he trudged, and the closer he got to it, the more dejected he became. Despite his little triumphs, despite now having a secret about Mike's secret, he had Failed.

Sun Tsu would be disappointed in him.

The strangely comforting sight of the door to his home soon filled his eyes. Before he entered he carefully divested himself of his shinobi shozoko-- torn and soaked and stained and reeking of pond and sewer-- and just as carefully replaced it in his bag. His feet, free of the tabi-boots, smelled worse than anything else, and he could tell that some of the blisters had already popped just from the sting.

He would go take a nice hot bath. He'd tell Splinter that he'd been training and had gotten carried away. It wasn't a lie, just not the Whole Story. That would work.

"I'm home, Sensei!" he called out, entering as nonchalantly as he could muster. "I hope I'm not late!"

"Not at all, my son," came the welcoming reply. Splinter entered the room from the kitchen, where Raphael and Donatello were setting the table for dinner. "Though your brother-- Leonardo!"

The startled exclamation from Splinter froze Leo in his tracks. His sensei and father was staring hard at him, his eyebrows shot up as high as Leo had ever seen them, his eyes huge, and his mouth open in Shock.

_What? What? Did I grow another head?_

Leo examined himself. He saw nothing wrong except for some scrapes and cuts and his black hands...

_Black hands?_

_Oh, no...._

"My son! Why is your face all black?"

Mike came from their room at that moment.

"Sensei, my tube of black printing ink is missing," he said, then stopped, catching sight of Leonardo. "Hey! I told you, leave my art supplies alone!"

ooooooOOOOOOooooooOOOOOOooooooOOOOOOoooooo

In the tub, Leonardo soaked his roughly scrubbed (by Splinter) face and bruised tail and blistered feet and various owies and battered ego.

Splinter had accepted his story of having gone a bit far in training (_"Do not use your brother's art supplies again, and be more careful from now on. And I shall probably never get that smell out of your outfit. What happened? Did you fall into the sewer? Did you swallow any sewer water?_"), but he was sure he had not heard the end of it. He had managed to avoid the "you are the ani" speech, but had gotten instead a "You know better than to take what is not yours" lecture, followed by the "you boys have been warned time and again to not play in the sewer water" lecture.

"I'll bet he'd give Mike more than a lecture, and I'd love to hear it," he muttered to himself.

At that moment Mike and his bulging with papers Notebook entered without knocking.

"Can't you wait until I'm finished?" Leo groused, preparing to close his eyes and ears and nose while his brother Took Care of Business.

"I don't hafta go," Mike grinned. "But I've been wondering all night. Were you following me?"

Leo mustered the most disdainful look of disdain ever mustered by a 10-year-old (future) Leader.

"Only I thought maybe you were all ninjaed up like that to follow me around today," Mike continued, "on account of I was out with my Top Secret Notebook and all."

"Mike, you really think too much of yourself, you know that?" Leo asked, and he sank under the surface of the tub where he could be covered with the soothing water.

Mike grinned again, and cheerfully left the bathroom. Under the water, Leo could hear the door slam shut.

Five minutes later he surfaced and dried off and began to dress for bed, resolved to Never Think of that Notebook Again. It was foolish of him, thinking that Mike was learning a kata that he himself didn't know. Pure and utter foolishness! And he thought MIKE had an active imagination.

"Ah Leo," he managed to chide himself. "You should know better. And now you do! No more of this foolishness!"

He buttoned the last button of his pajama top and sighed in satisfaction.

Then he spotted a Piece of Paper on the floor.

Mike's handwriting covered it, along with diagrams (drawn by the turtle), and a paragraph that had Leo's Full Attention:

**Kusanku: This kata was adopted and developed by Okinawan Karate men after it was brought to Okinawa in 1761 by a Chinese Martial Artist named Kusanku. This kata is the most magnificent and advanced kata of all Matsubayashi Ryu Karate. It is also the longest and most difficult kata, requiring painstaking practice for more than a decade for mastery.**

_Damn!_


	6. Chapter 6

_Gadzooks, has it really been this long? And all I can manage is a chapter that is light on action and heavy on Leo-determination._

_TMNT are the sole property of Mirage. I know nothing about karate, jujitsu, or any martial arts. But I do like Jackie Chan. And I know how to Google._

**Stalking the Green-Eyed Monster**

_(18. Hence the saying: )_

_If you know the enemy_

_and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a_

_hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy,_

_for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat._

_If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will_

_succumb in every battle._

_Sun Tzu, The Art of War_

**In traditional logic, an axiom or postulate is a proposition that is not proved or demonstrated but considered to be either self-evident, or subject to necessary decision. Therefore, its truth is taken for granted, and serves as a starting point for deducing and inferring other (theory dependent) truths.**

_Wikipedia_

Leo stared at his carefully worded thoughts on the notebook paper. It should be as simple as a logic problem.

Fact: Splinter **never** teaches new katas until old ones have been mastered.

Fact: Mike has not mastered the old ones.

Ergo, Splinter is NOT teaching Mike new katas.

**However**-- Mike dropped a detailed paper on the history and execution of the "hardest kata to master"!!!

Fact: Splinter IS giving Mike "special lessons".

Conclusion: Splinter is teaching Mike new katas!!

BUT!!!-- Splinter NEVER teaches new katas until old ones have been mastered-- and Mike has NOT mastered the old ones--

Leo carefully crumpled up this latest attempt, then set it in line next to the other twenty-seven crumpled balls of notebook paper he'd spent so much time working on. No matter how he looked at it, Logic indicated that Splinter was indeed giving Michelangelo-- MICHELANGELO-- special lessons on the hardest kata in the world to master!

"No! That is impossible!" he rejected out loud. "I can figure this out! There is a logical explanation! There has to be! I know I can solve this! I know I can! After all, I solved that really hard logic problem the other week!"

_You are trapped in a room with two doors. One leads to certain death and the other leads to freedom. You don't know which is which._

_There are two samurai guarding the doors. They will let you choose one door but upon doing so you must go through it._

_You can, however, ask one samurai one question. The problem is one samurai always tells the truth , the other always lies and you don't know which is which._

_What is the question you ask?_

Leo had answered that question correctly.... well, actually, Don had answered it correctly ("Ask one samurai what the other samurai would say, if he was asked which door was safe. Then go through the other door.").

As Leo thought back, he reluctantly recalled that HE had cast doubt upon the fact that any Honorable Samurai would stoop so low as to lie as it was against the Seven Virtues of Bushido, and even if there was such a dishonorable Samurai, the HONORABLE one would never allow the other to mislead the trapped person because the Seven Virtues of Bushido was Important to the Honorable Samurai because as Master Splinter knew, ONE of the Seven Virtues of Bushido was Honesty, and as Bushido was the Code of the Samurai, no Honorable Samurai would ever dishonor the Seven--

"Leonardo, as you are so knowledgeable on the subject, you may produce a three-thousand word essay on the Seven Virtues of Bushido" Splinter had interrupted, "With special attention paid to the EIGHTH Virtue-- that of Filial Piety!"

Leo frowned in slight anger at his own faulty memory. Then he shrugged. At least he had not had to do a three-thousand word essay AND fifty flips as Raphael had had to do-- HIS answer had been "Simple-- kill one, then force the other to enter the door first. End of story".

Secretly, Leo still thought Raph's answer was more in line with a true ninja, but then who was he to argue with the Way Things Were?

Mike's had been "Why was I trapped in the room in the first place? Was I grounded? Is this about that mess in the bathroom the other day? If there was only two doors, how did I get in there? Wouldn't I go out the door I came in? Were there any windows? What about time portals? Were there any time portals in there? How about transporters like in Star Trek? Did Scotty beam me in there? What if I don't go into any rooms unless Don is with me? Are you sure I'm not grounded, 'cause if I'm grounded, wouldn't I get into more trouble if I try to leave the room before you ungrounded me? Can I have some ice cream, I'm hungry!"

Leo reached out and took one of the twenty-eight crumpled balls of paper, carefully smoothing it out and rereading what he'd noted on it earlier, when he had actually gone to Donatello and presented him with a purely hypothetical scenario whereby the names "Splinter" and "Mike" had only been used as handy examples to his totally and completely hypothetical scenario that had nothing to do with Real Life whatsoever--

"Why would Splinter be teaching Mike anything new?" Don had replied bitterly, cleaning up (yet again) after Mike's attempt to "help" with Don's latest invention. "Unless it's lessons in how to screw with my projects in even more unimaginably destructive ways than usual."

Leo had looked in Shock and Brotherly Disapproval at Donatello.

"You know, you sounded just like Raphael when you spoke like that," he had sternly chided him.

Don had brightened visibly.

"Did I? Neat!"

Leonardo, as a young (Future) Leader, had then felt it his Duty to steer this erring brother away from the inherently destructive path of emulation of Raphael, but Donatello countered with Words and Phrases that made no sense-- indeed, if Leo didn't know better, he would suspect that Don was trying to use ancient evil magic spells to repel his Wise and Caring Brother and (Future) Leader.

He had certainly found himself beating a hasty retreat back to his (for the moment) room, where he had attempted to recreate on paper Donatello's exact words, only to end up with thirteen of the twenty-eight crumpled balls of paper lined up neatly on the floor near his desk.

He needed to dispose of them, but he was reluctant to toss them in the trash. Splinter would notice the amount of paper he'd used, and probably want to find out if he'd been wasting the precious commodity by drawing superhero comics (like Mike) or graphic pictures of motorcycle-riding ninja cutting the heads off of the zombie army in gory detail (like Raph).

It would be prudent to burn them all, but as Splinter frowned upon Open Flame anywhere Young Turtles were (_"How many times must I tell you, Donatello, do not burn down the Lair!_"), he would need to find another way to keep his work Secret.

He'd seen a show once where the Good Guy destroyed an important piece of paper by eating it, but that plan was rejected as quickly as the burning one. Even on a good day he knew that he'd probably not manage more than three, four pages tops before he'd have to give it up as a Lost Cause.

In the end he simply uncrumpled them all, sorted them according to Importance, and tucked them carefully into the handy flap of a well-used blue folder. Perhaps they'd come in useful in later years. One never knew.

Meanwhile, he had Important Work to do in the dojo.

Splinter was out scavenging, and he'd taken Raphael and Michelangelo with him (and that stupid notebook as well-- WHY did Sensei allow this?). Don was trying to recover from the earlier incident of Mike's "I wanna be your assistant what does this do?" followed by a crash and some surprisingly colorful exclamations from Donatello (hence Sensei's including the young turtle in today's scavenging-- despite Raphael's protests).

Entering the dojo, he bowed, showing proper respect, then carefully closed the door so as to not attract unwanted attention from his brainy brother. He went through the motions of warming up, then with many a surreptitious glance, he opened the much-folded piece of paper that Mike had dropped the other night in the bathroom and studied it closely. This would be his first chance to really read it without worrying that someone (Mikey) would catch him at it. He had practically memorized the first paragraph, but now he would give special and undivided attention to the entire thing.

_Kusanku: This kata was adopted and developed by Okinawan Karate men after it was brought to Okinawa in 1761 by a Chinese Martial Artist named Kusanku. This kata is the most magnificent and advanced kata of all Matsubayashi Ryu Karate. It is also the longest and most difficult kata, requiring painstaking practice for more than a decade for mastery._

Leo still could not understand why Splinter was teaching this kata to Mike! They'd been learning katas since practically forever and Mike still hadn't mastered stuff like Kihon Kata Ichi, or Kihon Kata Ni, or Kihon Kata San, and let's face it, there was no way he was even close to Kihon Katas Yon and Go.... And those were just the katas from Shotokan Karate! Jishikin he was better at, Leo had to admit, but still, if one was to master something as difficult as the Kusanku, one must be master of many disciplines.

Indeed, Ko Budo was truly an excellent means of improving one's ju jitsu skills as well....

"Leo!" Don bellowed from the kitchen. "You hungry?"

Leo, startled out of his imaginary lesson to his brothers, had the presence of mind to go to the dojo door and call out "No!" before returning to the matter at hand. No need in tipping Don to any plans he might have. After all, a (Future) Leader did not share all of his doings with his followers. They were just expected to follow.

Leo returned to his reading. Mike's handwriting, usually sloppy and carefree, was painstakingly clear in what he'd copied from some source or another (and WHY didn't Splinter let HIM see such sources?)

_Kusanku is a cornerstone of many styles of karate. It is characterized by the use of flowing techniques that resemble those found in White Crane Kung Fu--_ "Oooo! That would be sweet to know White Crane Kung Fu"--- _it also has a wide variety of open-handed techniques. In Matsubayashi-ryu karate, the kata is known for its flying kick_ ("Flying kick!!!") _and its "cheating" stance, which robs the opponent of opportunities to attack by extending one leg along the ground and squatting as low as possible on the other (ura-gamae)._

"Man, I can just see me doing that when Raph attacks during practice!" he exclaimed, and allowed himself the rather pleasing mental picture of performing such a move to the surprise of his arrogant brother and approving Sensei! Then he shook himself with a happy sigh and returned to his reading.

_The bunkai for this technique allows the practitioner to escape a bear-hug from behind by twisting and dropping out of their grasp_ ("Even better for when I have to spar with Raph! Sensei has been holding out!"). _The hand techniques that accompany the stance block the head, while allowing for a strike to the groin _("OUCH! Good thing we have plastrons"), _knee, or foot. Because of the complexity of its techniques, Kusanku is the highest ranking and most complex kata in Matsubayashi-ryu, and is said to take more than ten years to master._

Leo sat back, digesting what he'd read yet again. More than ten years. Why, at this rate, he'd be twenty! Man! That's hard to imagine!

"And Mike has a head-start on me, so if I don't get busy, he'll have this mastered by the time he's like nineteen!"

_In Shotokan karate, Kanku-dai consists of 65 movements executed in about 90 seconds--_ "Ha! The only think Mike can do in ninety seconds is eat an entire pizza!"--_ and symbolizes attack and defense against eight adversaries._ "EIGHT! OH, yes, this is JUST what I need to learn! A Leader should be able to take on more opponents than his team. That's why he's the Leader!" -- _It is a major form of the kata; its equivalent minor form is called Kanku-sho. Kanku-dai was one of Gichin Funakoshi's favorite kata and is a representative kata of the Shotokan system. The embusen (path of movement) of Kanku-sho is similar to that of Kanku-dai, but it begins differently. It is a compulsory Shotokan kata and of high technical merit. As a result of Anko Itosu's efforts, the Heian kata contain sequences taken from Kanku-dai._

"Anko Itosu! The father of modern karate!" Leo spoke the name with much reverence. "Though considering Gichin Funakoshi is the one who really spread karate through Japan, perhaps he should be considered the grandfather of modern karate-- I mean, everyone knows that Gichin Funakoshi was a follower of Anko Itosu-- I'll bet Mike thinks both of those names come from some Japanese cartoon or something."

Leo looked at the rest of the page. Mike had only copied the first seven steps on the back of his paper. The rest must exist in the depths of that massive tome known as "Michelangelo's Top Secret Project for Michelangelo's Eyes ONLY! Keep Out! I mean it, 'cause it's TOP SECRET!" notebook.

Still, seven steps were better than nothing.

"Sun Tzu says 'If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.' 'A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step', as Sensei says. 'Anticipate the difficult by managing the easy' as he also says."

Leo took a deep breath, and got into stance. He knew that by doing this, he would go against his father's and Sensei's expectations and teachings-- but he was determined. He would learn this kata on his own.

He would show Mike-- show them all-- that Leonardo was not afraid to break the rules-- if it was for a Good Reason. Leonardo was not afraid to risk punishment if it meant that he would be better prepared to lead his brothers, to protect this family, to (one day) be not just Leader of this team, but of this Clan!

He was not afraid to Teach Himself!

The outer door opened, and the sound of Splinter's voice calling him and Donatello to help put the supplies away caused him to nearly jump out of his shell like some naughty little turtle caught stealing cookies.

"Coming Sensei!" he automatically called, as he desperately snatched up his precious document.

"Hey, Leo! Whatcha doing in there? Come help, this stuff is heavy!" Mike's voice was right outside the dojo.

He couldn't let Mike see this! Briefly he thought of eating it-- then the door was swinging open, and Mike, staggering under a box of Something Heavy, entered, his vision briefly blocked by the huge cardboard carton he was struggling to keep from dropping.

_Man, if only I wore pants! Pockets would be so handy right now!_

Leo, folding the paper quickly, popped it into his mouth and moved to help Mike.

"We found some cool stuff for the dojo," Mike said happily as Leo helped him carry the box further into the room and set it down with a soft "bamf". "Look! Dumbbells! They must weigh a ton, Raph kept whining that he couldn't carry the box yet he called dibs on using them first. And we scored some bowling ball pins, Sensei says they're called Indian clubs but they sure don't look like anything an Indian used, at least I've never seen a cowboy movie where Indians were using these. Anyway, he says they're very popular with human martial arts instructors, but if we're lucky maybe Splinter will let us use them for our own bowling alley...."

Mike carried on in this vein, not worried by the noncommittal grunts and muffled responses of Leo. Leo, his mouth full of a bulky, nasty-tasting, soggy folded wad of paper, was finding it difficult to swallow without revealing that he was concealing something. It seemed like forever before Mike was finished unloading the box and they could finally leave the dojo.

"Got something special planned for dinner, bro," Mike cheerfully said as they were leaving. "You're gonna love it! You'll NEVER guess what it is! Not in a million billion years!"

And he waited expectantly for Leo to guess.

Leo, afraid to comment, sort of smiled and shrugged.

"C'mon, Leo! Guess! I'll give you a clue: it's raw and tastes great with wasabi!"

And he waited.

Leo swallowed. Carefully. Then, wedging the paper as best as he could into one cheek (while turning his head to keep Mike from noticing) and managed to say without too much difficulty "Sashimi".

"Yeah! Can you believe it? Sashimi and rice and miso soup and wasabi and all good stuff!" Then he noticed the bulge in Leo's cheek, despite his brother's attempts to hide it. "Whatcha got in your mouth, gum? You KNOW how Sensei is about gum in the dojo! Leonardo, I'm shocked!

Leo managed to look guilty and with a feeble and slurpy "I forgot," ran out of the dojo and back to his (for the moment) room before Mike could ask him for some gum.

Pulling the now soaking paper from his mouth, Leo carefully opened it, then hid it under his mattress. Hopefully it would dry by morning.

Splinter would be taking Donatello with him tomorrow. Raph would probably ask to go, and Leo was more than prepared to volunteer all three of his brothers so he could be alone in the lair, but if he only had Mike to contend with, then he could practice in the dojo with no real trouble. Mike was way easier to distract than Raph, who would not only want to know why "Fearless Leader" was in there trying to make them all look bad by practicing while Sensei was out, he'd insist on joining him just to challenge him to stupid contests and wrestling bouts.

_Tomorrow, I begin to teach myself_ he thought as he went to help put away the rest of the supplies.

_Tomorrow I will begin to master that kata!_


	7. Chapter 7

_Been forever, I know-- stupid writer's block! I am hoping that I'm finally over it, as I have so many things I need to finish as well as begin!_

_TMNT is now the intellectual property of Nickelodeon-- if one can use the words "intellectual" and "Nickelodeon" in the same sentence. "Spiderman and His Amazing Friends" are owned by someone I'm sure. The episode quoted from, "Sunstar", was written by Christy Marx. "The Art of War" is attributed to Sun Tzu and is in the public domain. I am sure that has to be one of the longest disclaimers I've ever written..._

* * *

**Stalking the Green-Eyed Monster**

**Kusanku: This kata was adopted and developed by Okinawan Karate men after it was brought to Okinawa in 1761 by a Chinese Martial Artist named Kusanku. This kata is the most magnificent and advanced kata of all Matsubayashi Ryu Karate. It is also the longest and most difficult kata, requiring painstaking practice for more than a decade for mastery.**

**1. Look**

**2. Left pinan block**

**3. Right pinan block**

**4. Pull**

**5. Knife hand**

**6. Right punch, outside block**

**7. Left punch, outside block**

_Ninja-Master Leonardo studied the scroll fragment yet again, lingering on the introduction. Though it was only a fraction of what he was seeking, he could sense the importance of it all. Indeed, his vast skills would be hard-put to the test, but he was confident that he could-- and would-- decipher the secrets that the scrap of paper held._

_He couldn't help but smirk at the carelessness of his Opponent. True, he had led Ninja-Master Leonardo on a merry chase, but as good as he was, he had still Slipped Up._

_Once again he perused the fragment. He would have to commit it to memory, and quickly. He was certain his Opponent would realize his careless mistake, and come searching._

_Ninja-Master Leonardo composed himself; the silence that filled the solemn chamber was comforting even as it invigorated him. Breathing in with his typical disciplined way, he entered the First Stance... concentrate... visualize... begin the first move..._

"Whatcha doin' in here?"

Leonardo, with an involuntary shriek, nearly jumped out of his shell at the sound of Raphael's voice as said Turtle practically kicked the door open, causing it to bang against the wall.

"Jeeze, Leo, you screamed just like Mikey!" Raph laughed, pleased at the unexpected yet entertaining reaction of his brother.

Righteous anger quickly moved in to cover total embarrassment.

"Don't sneak up on people, Raphael! It's not polite!!"

Raph gave him a disbelieving Look.

"We're trainin' ta be NINJA, LeoNERDo. We're suppose ta sneak up on people!"

"Well, don't sneak up on ME!"

"Why? Ya losin' yer edge, Splinter Junior? I thought no one short of Sensei could sneak up on the Mighty Leonardo."

The snerking sound Raph made as he said this, combined with those rude "quotation mark" gestures he made with his fingers at the words "Mighty Leonardo", almost-- ALMOST-- caused Leonardo to react in a way that a (Future) Leader should not react in. But he held onto his Composure.

"I mean, damn, Leo! I can't even sneak up on Don when he's concentratin' on something. What the hell you so absorbed in?"

_Breathe.... breathe.... BREATHE....._

"What do you need, Raph?"

"Well, if ain't too much trouble, I really need ta take a dump," Raph replied as if nothing else had taken place. "And since this IS the bathroom, and since you AIN'T usin' it at the moment except ta practice katas in...."

"I wasn't practicing katas in here!" Leo's quick response was more than a signal to Raph that Fearless (Future) Leader had indeed been doing such. But Raph had more pressing matters at the moment.

"So anyways, unless yer interested to see if I gots sinkies or floaties, I suggest--"

Leo's retreat was as dignified as possible considering the speed.

Everywhere was busy at the moment. Splinter was practicing in the dojo and was Not to be Disturbed. Mike was hogging the living room couch, watching "Spiderman and His Amazing Friends" while "studying" (loudly, whenever Leo was present) from his Notebook. Don had the kitchen to himself for a few precious minutes to Build Something. And the bedroom had pretty much been staked out by Raph, who was in the midst of building the Super-Mega Motorcycle Racetrack of Violent and Terrifying Death (which pretty much covered the entire floor and one of the bottom bunks as well).

And they couldn't go past the close boundaries today if they went outside. Mike had slipped up and mentioned the workers from the other day who had shown up at Secret Hiding Place Number Four, and Splinter had been Angry, and even though it had been so far away, as far as Sensei was concerned, they'd been right on their doorstep. So Mike (and the others) could not go further than the front door until Splinter was satisfied that no one was going to come closer than they had-- which was pretty much miles away-- Mike had even pointed it out on the map with a "But Sensei...."

_"I am not disappointed that you were able to cleverly avoid them, my son," Splinter had lectured. "But you did NOT return home at once, as I have always insisted. You should have come to warn us!"_

_Leonardo, mouth open to join in on the lecture as warranted by his status as (Future) Leader, had found that he was suddenly in a dilemma: if he admonished Mike, then he'd be a hypocrite. He knew the same rule as Mike, yet he had not gone home directly to warn Sensei! He had followed his little brother instead._

_And trying to justify his action by declaring to himself that he had only been keeping an eye on Michelangelo? Why his own brain laughed derisively at his audacity in formulating such a defense!_

Anyway, Mike's innocent comment had prevented Leonardo from beginning (yet again) to teach himself the first seven steps of this most difficult of katas.

"Hey, Leo," Mike, lounging on the couch, broke into his thoughts. "Wanna watch this show with me? It's a good one! It's got this Japanese superhero named Sunfire, and his powers are just like Firestar's, and they start to fall in love, and he tells her that his uncle Genju needs both of them to help start his Fusion Reactor. Sunfire thinks that it'll provide energy to the entire world, but his uncle has LIED to him and really plans to use their combined powers to release his Fire Monster. Then Spiderman and Iceman decide to check out Genju's company called 'Ichi-Ban Electronics'. Sounds like the only Japanese word the writer knew I guess, what a silly name, I would have called it 'Kasai Kaibutsu Electronics' 'cause that would have been funnier-- I mean, putting 'Fire Monster' in the title, since Genju wanted to release his fire monster...."

" 'Kasai' is also used for 'fruits and vegetables'," Leonardo pointed out, "so your monster would have sounded like something you'd find on a farm instead of a factory."

"So do you wanna watch with me?" Mike was not deterred. "Of course, you'd have to promise to not bother me during the commercials, on account of I have to study." And he needlessly held up the battered blue, bulging with who knew what kinds of papers, loose-leaf binder.

Leo could not take his eyes off the words "Michelangelo's Top Secret Project for Michelangelo's Eyes ONLY! Keep Out! I mean it, 'cause it's TOP SECRET!"

It was like they were eye-magnets, designed with the sole purpose of fixing Leo's attention on nothing but those seventeen words.

_Indeed, they seemed to glow with a type of fire; yes, a taunting, in your face, ha-HA type of fire! It was the type of fire that sparked off and ignited an ember of... something... within the heart of the Young (Future) Leader, burning brighter and brighter, growing and growing until..._

"No thank-you, Michelangelo," Leo heard himself say in a very Grown Up Tone of Voice. "I have to do something else. Outside."

Mike sat up straight at those words.

"Outside? Sensei said we couldn't go outside!"

"Sensei said we could not travel past the boundaries," Leonardo corrected him, as he approached the door. "I shall be Just Outside."

"Want me to come with you?"

Leo favored his brother with a condescending smile. He would have patted him kindly on the head if he'd been closer.

"No, thank-you, Michelangelo. I believe that I can step outside without needing the supervision of my baby brother."

Mike frowned, feeling insulted, and prepared to follow anyway. He was not a baby! He had just as much right to 'step outside' as Leonardo! HE was...

"Robots! Attack!" ordered the evil uncle Genju, and Spidey and Iceman were captured, while Sunstar got Firestar to go ignite the fusion reactor to "prove that my uncle wants to help Mankind!", but of course once they ignited the fusion reactor, the Fire Monster was released and both Firestar and Sunstar had their powers drained from them and...

Leo had no worries about being followed.

Outside, he sat on the ledge where the stream of water flowed past their well-hidden home, lost in thought. The flame that Mike's notebook had ignited was starting to fade as he sat there, staring at the water, looking for Enlightenment.

_Splinter was a worrywart sometimes_, Leo had to concede. _Sensei knew a lot, true, but sometimes... sometimes he was overly cautious._

_The flame sprang up just a smidgen._

Leo was shocked at himself for having such thoughts.

_But it's true_, his inner voice said_. Those workers were miles away. Only one of them even came close, and he ran as soon as those rats appeared! There's no way he'd come down this far, after all, they were no where near where those guys were supposed to be working anyway._

Leonardo looked around. He could try practicing out here. But the risk of a nosy brother or concerned Sensei and Father suddenly opening the door to see what he was up to was too great. While he could probably fool his brothers into thinking that he was just practicing normal katas, he knew that Splinter would immediately know that those seven moves were Kusanku. And Splinter was adamant with a capital "A" about anyone-- ANYONE-- trying to learn new katas before old ones were mastered.

_If I only could have explained to Sensei just how far away they were... but then he would have known that I was there instead of the old drainage junction..._

Leo found himself gazing in the direction of the old drainage junction even as he had that thought. It, too, was well-away from Secret Hiding Place Number Four. Perhaps he could persuade Sensei into letting him go just that far...

_Yeah, and perhaps Raph would suddenly be smarter than Don! No way is Sensei going to let me go. I mean, really!_

_Sun Tzu said:_

_11. The art of war teaches us to rely not on the_

_likelihood of the enemy's not coming, but on our own readiness_

_to receive him; not on the chance of his not attacking,_

_but rather on the fact that we have made our position unassailable._

Leonardo froze as those words from "The Art of War" came to him like a bolt from the blue. The truth of those words were Crystal Clear!

They were always ready! They were!

_The flame grew brighter and hotter._

Leo strained his memory to recall the rest of that section, pleased that he was starting to recall sections almost at will!

"12. There are five dangerous faults which may affect a general:" Leonardo repeated aloud, and began to count them off on his fingers:

" (1) Recklessness, which leads to destruction;

(2) cowardice, which leads to capture;

(3) a hasty temper, which can be provoked by insults;

(4) a delicacy of honor which is sensitive to shame;

(5) over-solicitude for his men, which exposes him to worry and trouble.

13. These are the five besetting sins of a general, ruinous to the conduct of war."

Leonardo was shaking his head in amusement. Sensei was exhibiting fault number five-- over-solicitude for his sons, which exposed him to worry and trouble.

"Ah Sensei," he indulgently chuckled. "Who can fault you? I mean, look at how the others have acted in the past. Don going off to the dump like that on his own when he was seven; Raph and Mike trying to settle that bet topside...

He conveniently forgot how he, himself, had ventured far from home when younger. Besides, that had been Different!

Leonardo stood up and smiled. His way was clear. He would start practicing at the old drainage junction. It wasn't too far past the boundaries, after all, and besides, Splinter trusted his judgment.

Yes, he would set off at once. He could be there and back again before--

"Leonardo, training!" Splinter called from the open door, causing him to jump almost as much as he had done earlier when Raphael had entered the bathroom.

Thankfully he did not shriek this time.

"Hai, Sensei!" Leo dutifully returned to his home. The flame was set on low, but just for the moment.


	8. Chapter 8

_And... here is the next chapter! The plot thickens. Hopefully. Thanks to Askre, Reinbeauchaser, Kyabetsu and Micaturtle for helping me out with their suggestions! They helped to get me moving! AND a belated thanks to Desert Rose-- I'd already published, but she was kind enough to answer my lj question!  
_

_TMNT belong to Viacom and Nickelodeon, but I honestly don't see them living in a pineapple under the sea..._

**Stalking the Green-Eyed Monster**

**Plan Number Four-- The Student Becomes the Sensei-- sort of**

For three terrifying days, Leonardo was Getting Away With It!

For three heart-pumping, nail-biting, breathless days, right after morning training and chores and just before afternoon lessons, Leonardo was slipping out of the front door "to play Just Outside", running as fast as he could to the old drainage junction, training himself on the first seven steps of the Kusanku, then beating it back to the Lair with just enough time to recover his breath, calm his racing heart, and then casually enter as if he'd been doing Nothing Special.

He had expected that one or more of his brothers would try to join him as they were still on "lock down", as Raphael referred to it, but he'd been so well-prepared for such occasions that he was almost disappointed when they didn't bother to even ask!

Donatello would be the least likely to offer to come along, unless he had something he particularly wanted to test outside. Don's latest project involved a lot of fine-tuning and was far from ready for a field test. Still, Leo had Planned-- _"Sure, Donatello! Let me get my copy of Sensei's 'Donatello's Safety Check List', and I'll check off everything first before we go."_

Don, he knew from personal experience, would immediately decline.

_"Never mind. It takes longer to do that check list than it did to build this project" he'd said the last time he'd wanted to field-test an invention in the sewers, but per Splinter's orders he'd been required to follow the (incredibly) long list of rules._

Raph would be the easiest to shake. All Leo would have to say was "_I'm going out to practice katas, wanna practice with me?_" for Raph to politely excuse himself (_"Are you outta your mind? Ain't we practiced katas enough this mornin'? Jeeze, Leo, get a Life!"_).

Mike, on the other hand....

Leo had been concerned. Mike had a habit of knowing just when he wasn't wanted. It was almost as if he'd been born with a sixth sense for this particular irritation. Don had even toyed with the idea of investigating if such a thing were possible, but a lack of easily obtainable research material put an end to that.

Michelangelo had mastered the art of "tag along" to the point where Splinter had had to insist that his son limit such attempts to five a month in order to keep the peace. Indeed, a close count was kept by the young turtle himself, proudly keeping track on a calendar he'd made himself.

And he always-- ALWAYS-- seemed to dole it out so that Leo was the one who "benefitted" the most from such attention at the least opportune times!

Yes, Leonardo had spent part of his evening the night before he would make his first attempt to get to the old drainage junction in coming up with as many Anti-Mikey scenarios as his 10-year-old brain could come up with on his own without the help of Raph (who would have suggested locking him in the closet) or Don (who would have suggested duct-taping the door **after** locking him in the closet).

And he'd managed to come up with five ideas, ranging from a "Let's see who can meditate the longest!" contest to "I'm gonna dredge out the channel in front of our door, it's looking rather cluttered, wanna help?"

Yet, for three days straight Michelangelo hadn't even once offered to follow Leo outside!

He wasn't disappointed, but... well, he **was** disappointed. He hated planning when he couldn't use his plans. Still, as Sun Tzu said:

_" Now the general who wins a battle makes many_

_calculations in his temple ere the battle is fought._

_The general who loses a battle makes but few_

_calculations beforehand. Thus do many calculations_

_lead to victory, and few calculations to defeat:_

_how much more no calculation at all! It is by attention_

_to this point that I can foresee who is likely to win or lose."_

At least Leo would not fail-- he had made MANY calculations in his temple ere the battle!

While waiting his turn to be called upon during afternoon training, Leo found himself once again Worrying.

That first day he'd managed to sneak off and return without notice had weighed heavily on his conscience.

_"I'm just going outside, Sensei," he said, appearing calm on the outside, but a nervous wreck on the inside. Sensei would know! Sensei was brilliant, he knew whenever someone was planning something! Sensei would--_

_"Very well, my son."_

_Leo, moving with deliberate casualness, stepped outside, wandered over to the very edge of the boundary while still being able to see the door, counted to one hundred-- took a deep, deep.... DEEP breath... and made a break for it!_

_He moved as quietly as he'd been trained, yet as fast as he could go, one eye on his destination, one ear on any possible shouts of "Leonardo!" echoing behind him._

_Nothing but the normal noises reverberated in his ears, though those were muffled by the pulse-pounding beat that seemed to fill his head as he tried to outrun his fear of being caught breaking Splinter's rule!_

_Before he knew it, he was there! He skidded to a halt, surprised, somewhat dazed for a moment as to where he was-- then he got himself under control, pulled the oft-folded paper from his belt, forced his hand to quit shaking so he could read the darn thing, then began._

_"Look... left pinan block... right pinan block... pull... knife hand... right punch, outside block... left punch, outside block..."_

_He stopped, once again slightly dazed, looking around as if waking from a dream._

_No noise other than the water sounds that filled this area. And the sound of his breathing._

_Laying the paper down, he got into position again, and slowly tried it from memory._

_"Look," he whispered, glancing to his left. "Left pinan block... right pinan block"_

_Up and out came first the left, then the right arms_

_"... pull... knife hand..." he muttered, suiting words to actions. "Right punch, outside block... left punch, outside block..."_

_This time he executed the moves a bit smoother, but not faster._

_"Leonardo, this isn't so hard!" he lectured himself. "You already know some of these moves. Do better!"_

_Once again he went through the seven moves, one eye on the paper just in case he'd forgotten something, and soon he was moving with complete confidence and (to his expert eye) skill!_

_Man! There is no way this takes ten years to master! I'll probably be able to do it in five. I can't wait to see the look on Mikey's face when I do this for the first time for Sensei!_

_Sensei!_

_Grabbing his paper, he beat it back to the Lair Just in Time!_

_Calming himself, he entered their home just as Splinter was summoning everyone to lunch!_

_The knowledge that he had succeeded seemed to make his milk taste that much sweeter! Though, for some reason, he had found his sandwich a bit hard to swallow at first. He had thought Splinter, looking at him across the table, could sense Something..._

_"Leonardo," he had said, and it was all the guilty turtle could do to keep from jumping. "Your writing assignment is due today. I trust you are ready to submit it."_

_"Hai, Sensei," he had replied, bowing in his chair. "I finished it the other day."_

_"Big surprise," Raph had muttered into his glass._

The second day had gone even better than the first! Sensei was going scavenging, and was taking Raphael with him. They were only sticking to the lower levels, as it was daylight, and they would not be gone long. Don, once the breakfast dishes had been cleared away, had complete control of the kitchen for his monumental security system project, and Mike was busy with some "new" comic books that Sensei had found the night before on his evening food search. Leonardo felt secure in leaving his brothers alone-- _after all, if there was a danger of Men coming around, Splinter would not have decided to go out at this time to forage!_

_Leo still traveled as quickly as he could, and made sure he kept his training to a brief time period (this time he'd remembered to bring his little alarm clock with him). The fear of discovery that had chased him the day before still tried to follow him today, but he outran it as easily as Mike could outrun Raph when Raph was gonna pound him._

_And today, there was little need to look at the scroll fragment... I mean, piece of paper!_

_Ninja-Master Leonardo was surrounded. As usual. The daimyo had sent his best guards to do his cowardly work, but Ninja-Master Leonardo would make short work of these twenty as he had of the twenty before. And the twenty before them... and the twenty before them...._

_"Look... left pinan block... right pinan block... pull... knife hand... right punch, outside block... left punch, outside block..." and the first few fell before his skill and power..."_

_Ninja-Master Leonardo repeated these seven steps over and over until all twenty of the Daimyo's soldiers were dead or dying. As he surveyed the fallen, he bowed with respect, and mused on how many more he would defeat once he had the rest of the scroll...._

_He got back to the lair well before Sensei and Raph that day. And, during afternoon training, he had felt little Worry that Splinter or his brothers were on to him. His conscience, though it nagged, was hard to hear over the sound of Ninja-Master Leonardo defeating scores of the Daimyo's "best" guards...._

**Today**, however.....

Today, while practicing in secret, he'd started to get Bored.

_I mean, it's the same seven steps. It's not enough! I've already mastered these seven steps. I want to know MORE! I mean, I'm sure the others, not even Mikey, can do these seven steps. But they're useless without the other fifty-eight steps-- or thirty-eight, depending upon which version this one was from, after all, Mike had said that there seemed to be several versions. Personally, the sixty-five step one would be more worth knowing, but trust Mike to probably have zeroed in on the easiest. After all, these terms didn't include any of the Japanese...._

So today's training had pretty much been spent wishing for More and wondering how to obtain It.

Now, as he sat in the dojo, awaiting the moment when Splinter would put him through sword practice, he Worried.

He worried that Splinter may have noticed an improvement that only came from learning the Kusanku.

He worried that Raph knew what he was up to. After all, he'd made that remark today about "what's the matter, LeoNERDo, practice not go the way you planned?" when he'd come inside from "practicing katas Just Outside". Leo knew for a fact that Raph had been grounded to their room until he'd finished his writing assignment that had been due the day before, so there was no way he could have spied on him. Yet that comment.....

But **mostly** he worried about a growing thought that was struggling to make itself clear to him: in order to get the rest of that kata, he was going to have to steal Mike's notebook.

Leo swallowed. Hard.

Steal? Steal the notebook?

No, just the kata! No need to steal the entire notebook.

But **steal**......

A strange feeling came over him; he felt cold and clammy, as if coming down with something. And yet he also felt very hot and flushed, like he did that time when he'd been caught in the bathroom singing and dancing to "Maniac".

Leonardo, absently rubbing his hands over and over his knee pads, glanced over at Mike.

There he was, looking through that stupid notebook, pencil making little movements, lips moving as he read something to himself, looking as if nothing was wrong, looking as if he had all the rights to break all the rules and learn all the stuff that he wasn't ready for....

Steal? Steal the kata?

_"Steal? How could you STEAL?" whispered a little angel turtle sitting on his right shoulder._

_"Why not? You've already been sneaking away from home. What's the difference?" whispered the little devil turtle lounging on his left. (Why was it that the little devil turtle always sounded like Raph?)_

_"Because it's STEALING!" Little Angel Turtle said, arms gesturing wildly. "Sensei says Stealing is Wrong!"_

_"Sensei says passing the boundaries without his permission is wrong," pointed out Little Devil Turtle, studying his fingernails. "Ya didn't squawk then."_

_"But that's different," huffed L.A.T. "After all, Sensei's just fallen into one of those five dangerous faults, that's all. And besides, he TRUSTS our judgment!"_

_"Well then, stealing the kata is okay," said L.D.T. "After all, Sun Tzu said in that one section:_

_31. Water shapes its course according to the nature_

_of the ground over which it flows; the soldier works_

_out his victory in relation to the foe whom he is facing._

_32. Therefore, just as water retains no constant shape,_

_so in warfare there are no constant conditions._

_33. He who can modify his tactics in relation to his_

_opponent and thereby succeed in winning, may be called_

_a heaven-born captain."_

_"So?"_

_"So, we **modify** our tactics and **take** what we need from the notebook. Simple," asserted Little Devil Turtle. "Besides, it's like spying, and Sun Tzu endorsed the use of spies. So it ain't exactly stealing, is it? Not when it's what will determine exactly who is gonna be Leader!"_

_"No, I'm sure you're wrong!"_

_"Michelangelo... Leader... calling all the shots... ordering everyone around..."_

_"It's STEALING! Stealing is not Honorable!"_

_" 'Leonardo, you need to practice more,'" L.D.T. said, suddenly sounding just like Mike. " 'Your katas look sloppy and poorly timed. Do it like this: Kick, down up, step behind, seisan--'"_

"Michelangelo," Splinter called. "Put your notebook away and stand. It is your turn."

"Hai, Sensei!" Mike happily made a show of covering the notebook with a few mats, then cheerfully leapt over Leo's head and landed in front of Splinter, weapons ready.

"There are five dangerous faults which may affect a general," Leo repeated to himself, counting them off on his fingers in his mind.

"(1) Recklessness, which leads to destruction;

(2) cowardice, which leads to capture;

(3) a hasty temper, which can be provoked by insults;

(4) a delicacy of honor which is sensitive to shame;

(5) over-solicitude for his men, which exposes him

to worry and trouble."

As he watched Mike go through his lesson, Leonardo realized that, as Sensei might be guilty of fault number five, he himself was in danger of fault number four-- 'a delicacy of honor which is sensitive to shame'.

After all, Sun Tzu had a huge section on spies. And spies could be said to be stealing information....

Leonardo swallowed, but this time with determination.

**Plan Number Five-- Ninja-Spy Leonardo.**

(tbc)


	9. Chapter 9

_Wow, an UPDATE! Yes, it's true! Hurray!!! Hope you enjoy it!_

_TMNT are the property of Viacom and Nickelodeon. "Quest Busters of the Underworld" owes its title to several shows on various networks but I'm too lazy to list them all. Dan Wilder is a fictional being and in no way related to Don Wildman except as perhaps a parody. All OCs are mine.  
_

**Stalking the Green-Eyed Monster**

_XI. THE NINE SITUATIONS_

_1. Sun Tzu said: The art of war recognizes nine varieties of ground:_

_(1) Dispersive ground; (2) facile ground; (3) contentious ground;_

_(4) open ground; (5) ground of intersecting highways;_

_(6) serious ground; (7) difficult ground; (8) hemmed-in ground;_

_(9) desperate ground._

_2. When a chieftain is fighting in his own territory,_

_it is dispersive ground._

_Sun Tzu, The Art of War_

"Okay, permits are in order, crew is in place, lighting is working, so let's get this episode started!"

The tall, good-looking man to whom the shorter, stouter man had addressed rubbed a hand over his carefully crafted beard-stubble and made a face.

"Is the make-up artist coming along this time?" he asked, brushing an imaginary speck from his olive green Army jacket. "I don't want to end up looking like I live down there, like that time in Istanbul."

The director, with as much patience as he could muster, nodded.

"No worries! This episode will be much different. Most of our time will be spent in the old abandoned stations, with a few brief scenes in the sewers--"

"I specifically asked that we avoid the sewers this time around," the dark-haired man frowned, his tanned skin growing darker as his displeasure started to build. "I don't LIKE respiratory infections!"

"Then wear your protective mask this time!" the director chided. "Sewers are needed for this episode. Don't worry, you'll only narrate the main scenes of those, but we have to have a few shots of you in there. Credibility and all, you know."

The host of "Quest Busters of the Underworld" sighed, his reluctant acceptance signaled by the pursing of his lips, an irritated glance to the left and a slight shake of his head. Then he ran a careful hand across the top of his head to reassure himself that his hair was still in place.

"And then we'll film in this old drainage junction," the director continued, pointing to a vague spot on one of the maps he had in his possession. "The sound crew's not happy as they haven't had a chance to adjust everything, but we got the clearance to film there today, so we'll just have to fix it in house."

Meanwhile, watching all this action with star-struck awe, was a tall N.Y.C. Transit worker. His uniform looked brand new, and it was so starched and crisp it was a wonder he could move in it without cracking. He'd managed to cut himself several times that morning shaving, and now the make-up artist for the show was trying her level best to cover the nicks up.

The stinging was sharp but he managed to put it out of his mind. This was BIG! He was gonna be on a TV show! HE was gonna be the guide to Dan Wilder, Host and Star of the show-- hell, he was gonna be INTERVIEWED ON CAMERA-- He, Joseph Anthony Moschella, who'd a thunk it?

And Lenny had told him that goin' to that old station was a waste of time! HA! Look who's gonna be on TV! And all because of that scream and those shiny toy handcuffs!!

"And what about the other guy?" Dan Wilder questioned his director, making that circling gesture next to his head when one is indicating someone else is cuckoo. "The guy who claims the talking mask-wearing frog accosted him? Are we really going to have to have him along?"

"No worries," the director once again used his favorite reply. "We got his interview already. Besides, he swore he'd never go back down there again, not even for fame and glory. Now, let's get this first shot out of the way so we can get goin'!"

Lights-- camera-- quiet on the "set"-- three, two, one, ACTION!

"We're back in New York, the City that Never Sleeps, where secrets run deep," Dan Wilder intoned, head tilted down at just the right angle, eyes dead on the camera, that little half-smirk bad-boy expression that the ladies loved showing on cue. Each gesture was choreographed and practiced to perfection. "The sights and sounds of the Underground once again summon us, challenging us to prove or disprove the myths and legends that have grown over the years."

He carefully moved to his left, eyes still on the camera, ignoring background street action (well-supervised by New York's Finest), speaking as he moved towards his mark.

"What is it that lures us back this time? The typical alligators in the sewers? Lost civilizations living undetected in the depths of the underworld?"

Now he crouched in perfect three/quarter profile, so that the manhole cover was in shot with him. His hand went into his pocket and he pulled out the toy handcuffs.

"No, it's this. This simple child's toy."

He gestured dramatically again at the handcuffs.

"This toy... and a mysterious scream.... and the story of strange encounters with talking frogs."

"And cut! Beautiful work, Dan, simply beautiful!"

"No, I think I should redo the cross over to the manhole cover," Dan disagreed. "Set it up again."

* * *

The night before:

_Stealing is wrong!_

_"You shouldn't steal from your brother!"_

_"Stealing is dishonorable!"_

_"HOW can you think of stealing from your own brother?"_

_"Stealing is what he's been trying to do, so why are you bustin' his shell now?"_

Both Leo and his Little Angel Turtle sat back at that statement.

_"I mean, really! He's been trying from the moment he found out that Mike was tryin' to take over as Leader! He tried on the couch, he tried in the kitchen, he tried in the bathroom-- hell, have ya forgotten that long day of followin' that troublemaker all over the world?"_

_"Yeah.... I'd forgotten those attempts. You're right."_

"Is it ever right for a Ninja to steal?"

Splinter, in the middle of fixing dinner, looked over at Leonardo, who tried to act casually.

"For example, say one was a spy in the enemy's camp, and he was charged with returning with the enemy general's battle plans," he went on, as he sat the table for dinner. "Is that stealing? And if it's stealing, is it right to steal then? How is it different from, oh, say, stealing a toy from a brother?"

"Leonardo, are you trying to confess to something?

Leo nearly dropped the silverware. Did Splinter Suspect?

"No, sensei," he hastily assured his Father and Master. "No no no! I was just wondering! I mean, I read all these stories and stuff, and I was just wondering!"

Splinter, a slight look of disbelief on his face, nevertheless allowed it to pass, and returned to making dinner.

"There are differences," he simply said. "When one is retrieving information that is vital to the success of one's army, that is something that benefits the spy's general and comrades. When one takes a toy from a brother, that is a selfish act and will be punished."

Leo nodded.

_"Told ya so," smirked Little Devil Turtle, elbowing Little Angel Turtle roughly in the arm._

_"Ow! That hurt!"_

Leo, his chore finished, left the kitchen to check on the progress of the others as was his duty as (Future) Leader.

Donatello, tasked with bathroom duty, was sitting in the tub, with no water, practicing the word "Eureka!" over and over.

"Donatello, have you cleaned everything like you were ordered?" Leonardo sternly asked, giving the room the once-over with a critical eye. Towels on the rack looked rather crooked. Indeed, his own fluffy blue one was folded slightly off-center. He immediately took it down, shook it out carefully, then refolded it, making sure that each corner was lined up exactly with the others.

"Nobody 'ordered' me to do anything, Leo**nerd**o," Don replied, using the name Raph favored the elder turtle with upon occasion, eyes on his book (the one that Leo hadn't seen when he'd entered). "**Splinter** gave me this chore to do on this day, not **you**."

Leonardo shook his head in (Future) Leaderly fashion. Donatello was more and more like Raphael every day. He MUST take his Erring Brother in hand and guide him back from the Dark Path he was starting down....

Moving on to their room, he was just in time to see Raphael cram the last of the toys into the closet, forcing the door closed with a "and STAY in there!"

Catching sight of Leo, he snapped to attention and saluted.

"Ready for inspection, Sir!" he shouted.

"Knock it off, Raph. Why did you have to slam that door shut?"

"Because I was teachin' it a lesson," Raph replied easily, as he moved to finish smoothing out his own bedclothes. "It didn't wanna hold all the stuff I put in there, and I told it 'you damn well are gonna hold it all or else!' and then I had ta get rough. Ya know, spare the rod, spoil the door." And he chuckled at his own wittiness.

Leo didn't even waste more breath. Making a mental note to not let Splinter open that door, he moved on to his Final Objective: Michelangelo!

Yes, Michelangelo had been given the precious task of changing the bedding in Sensei's room! Leonardo had begged his Father and Master for the honor-- I mean, chore-- of spending time in that sacrosanct sanctuary; he had pointed out how such a daunting task should be reserved for one such as himself, one who was destined to be (Future) Leader, one who would not short-sheet the bed as a joke!

"Leonardo, Michelangelo will do the chore with the same care and dedication as any of you would," Splinter had replied, slightly annoyed with Leonardo's insistence. He was going to have to have a Talk with this one about his "enthusiasm" some day.

He nonchalantly entered the room (having had to restrain himself from the respectful bow he'd perfected and was used to giving whenever Splinter was in the room), supercritical eye ready to detect the least little thing that would show that Michelangelo had Dishonored their Father and Master in any possible way-- and froze in shock!

"Hey, Leo!" Mike, sprawled on his plastron, was finishing tucking in the sheets and blanket at the foot of the bed-- WHILE HE WAS ON THE BED!!!

Leo watched in horrified speechlessness as the turtle then scooted around and smoothed down the blanket with a weird swimming motion, slowly making his way to the top of the bed where, rising up on his knees, he fluffed up the pillows, then slid from the bed, smoothing down the stray wrinkles he'd made while getting down.

"Michelangelo," he finally managed, as his brother radiated satisfaction at a Job Well-Done, "Why.... How..... Why...."

"Good job, eh, Leo? Work worthy of a leader, don't you agree?" Mike grinned, gazing at his handiwork. "AND I got a Surprise for Sensei!"

And quickly he put two pieces of candy that were still in the cellophane wrappers on the pillows!

"I've been saving those mints since forever!" he told the newly speechless Leo. "Ever since I heard that at the bestest hotels they put candy on the pillows! Think Splinter will like it?"

Leo, stunned (and kicking himself for NEVER having thought of doing something similar when it was HIS turn to work in here), merely nodded.

"Yep, I'm glad I finally got to do it," Mike continued, retrieving his Notebook from under Splinter's bed. "A good leader thinks of these things."

And he wandered out of the room, leaving a brother turned to stone by the parting words.

No. No. No no no no no-no-no-no-no-no-NO!!!!!

HE was NOT going to be LEADER! NEVER! NEVER in a gazillion YEARS!

_"Watch this," Little Devil Turtle whispered confidently to Little Angel Turtle._

Leonardo caught up with Mike, who was now on the couch, sorting through his Notebook before dinner.

"How do you keep anything straight in there?" Leo asked simply, joining him on the couch and turning on the TV.

"Oh, I've got my own method," Mike smiled, and held up a few manilla folders. "See? I've categorized the important things into these."

Leo was permitted to view (from a safe distance; DO NOT TOUCH!) the titles: **How to Piss off Raph; How to Cook Kung-Pao Chicken; Tip-**

**Top Super-Secret Kata**....

"Oops!" Mike hastily shoved that one back into the Notebook before Leo could finish reading the lengthy title. "That one's the secretest one of the most secret ones. You didn't see the title, did you?" And he cast worried eyes on his brother.

"Huh? Oh, no, no," Leo, the smirk of superiority carefully under control. Mike had Slipped Up big time. Big Time for real!

"My sons, come to the table," Splinter called, and Leo, with much indifference, ignored any further attempts by Mike to draw his attention to the "Super-Secret Folder that I accidentally showed you."

* * *

Morning.

Splinter was going out to scavenge. The boys were to stay at home.

"I've been noticing the smell of humans more and more lately," he said. "I do not want any of you to even step outside this door."

"Hai, Sensei" they said in unison, with a bow. Leo, fingers mentally crossed, awaited the usual instructions.

"Raphael, I want that writing assignment to be completed by the time I return home," came the stern warning. "Donatello, I forbid you to clutter the kitchen with your experiment. Today you are to practice your calligraphy. I will expect that passage I gave you copied at least three times and waiting for me along with Raphael's assignment."

Raph and Don did the bows as usual, Don more reluctant than Raph. But at least they'd be at the same table, Leo knew-- the kitchen table was the perfect place for doing such assignments, and they'd both be so busy trying to finish as soon as possible that they'd both make mistakes and be at it for hours!

"Michelangelo, you are to spend the time in the dojo corner, with no snacks, no comics and NO notebook," he stressed with a stern look. "I am still unhappy with that practical joke."

"But Sensei, that bucket of water was for Raph! I swear I didn't mean for YOU to get doused on your way to the bathroom!"

"Nevertheless, I was the receiver of the prank. You will put your notebook in my room-- in the usual place. Now."

"Hai, Sensei," Mike bowed, and trudged off to comply.

"Leonardo, you are in charge. And all of you, stay out of trouble!"

Mike, with a forlorn look, entered the dojo and plopped down in the corner. He hated having nothing to do.

Leonardo was careful to keep any trace of anticipation and glee from his tone of voice as well as his body language as the other two entered the kitchen to begin their own punishments-- I mean, assignments-- and he saw Splinter off with a "good hunting, Sensei!"

He counted the minutes until Mike whined from the dojo if he could have a drink of milk and go to the bathroom.

Ten minutes exactly.

"This is the one and only time you will be allowed to go," Leo said, keeping an eye on Mike to make sure he didn't sneak off to Sensei's to get his notebook, or to his own room to get some comics. Then he escorted him to the kitchen where he allowed Mike to persuade him to also include some cookies and perhaps a sandwich or two and an extra glass of milk (Leo knew he'd be clamoring to use the bathroom again later, but it mattered little-- he'd be back before then), and he helped Mike carry all this back to the dojo with a stern admonishment to not make a mess.

Leo was breaking a cardinal rule about food in the dojo, but it was part of his plan. He HAD to let Mikey get away with this, so he himself could get away-- from the Lair!

Once he'd closed the door on his brother, he swiftly made his way to Splinter's room and with very little effort found the Notebook in the usual place, under the bed!

_Yes, little brother, you slipped up twice yesterday. Ah well, it was bound to happen. Call yourself a future leader? I don't think so!_

Leo extracted the folder labeled "**Tiptop Super-Secret Kata That Sensei is Only Teaching Me and NOT Leonardo**", and after frowning at the title, he opened it only long enough to ascertain that this indeed was what he was after.

_Master Spy Leonardo's plan had worked perfectly. After a night of drinking with the enemy, disguised as a fellow soldier, Master Spy Leonardo had planted the seed of the enemy's downfall_

_"I saw this show where someone put a bucket of water on the top of the bathroom door, and when someone entered, the bucket tipped and poured water all over the person," he'd said in passing. "I doubt that would work in real life, however..."_

_"Naw, that would be the easiest thing to do!" the enemy soldier named Michelangelo had replied. "The trick is to make sure it doesn't drip water on the floor 'cause that's a dead giveaway."_

_"I don't believe it!" scoffed Master Spy Leonardo. "And besides, how could you know it would get that person? The show I saw was just that-- a show."_

_"It CAN work! I bet I could get Raph really good with that, he's the one who gets up the most in the night to pee."_

_Master Spy Leonardo simply shook his head in disbelief and then Changed the Subject._

"Ah, Mikey," Leo chuckled as he carefully and quickly put the notebook back, clutching the folder to his plastron. "You were so careless yesterday. You revealed your hiding place; you revealed the exact folder; you revealed your weakness for proving yourself right and got Splinter instead of Raph! Ha! He won't think of YOU as leader material after that episode! Icing on the cake, so to speak!"

_"Stop gloating and get a move on!" Little Angel Turtle shouted at him, causing Little Devil Turtle to stare at him in shock. "What?"_

Quickly, quietly, Leo was out the door and on his way to the old drainage junction.

Nothing could go wrong. Absolutely nothing!

* * *

"Okay, that's a wrap for here!" the director shouted. The crew, wary of the spot where Joseph Anthony Moschella had pointed out where the rats had suddenly appeared after his harrowing discovery of the handcuffs (following his harrowing search for the harrowing scream that had drawn him there in the first place), started breaking down the portable lights and various other pieces of equipment and made ready to move out.

"Now all we need to do is get to the junction," the director said as the make-up artist and hair stylist both fussed around the host. "We can shoot some stuff on the way, maybe make the quick shot in the sewers-- it'll only be a quick shot, Dan, I PROMISE! Then we can film the drainage junction and call it a day."

"I think we'll need to come back here tomorrow," Dan Wilder said. "I want to film a bit more down here. You can come back tomorrow, right?" This was directed at Joseph Anthony Moschella, who nearly leaped at the chance.

"Sure, Mr. Wilder! No problem! I can be here as much as you need me!"

"Yeah, good. Yeah, I want to redo that bit about the screams," Dan was now saying to the director. "I have a few ideas I want to try out."

The director, used to this after two seasons, merely nodded. He'd let Dan have his way, then fix it in editing later.

"Okay, people! Let's get a move on!" he said, and followed their guide towards their final destination for the day.

**tbc**


	10. Chapter 10

_I'm still plugging along! Thanks to those of you who have stuck with me, and to those that have found me._

_TMNT are the property of Viacom/Nickelodeon, but I'll be darned if I EVER do a TMNT/Spongebob crossover story...._

**Stalking the Green-Eyed Monster**

"And.... cut! Let's try it again, and for God's sake, Dan, stop whining like a drama queen."

"Easy for you to say, that rat didn't run across YOUR boot!"

Lights once again surrounded Dan Wilder as he crouched in three-quarter profile, taking a few deep breaths, carefully ruffling his hair, then gazing into the camera again.

"Miles upon endless miles of sewers, storm drains, subway tunnels snake underneath the Big Apple. Everything that the City depends upon-- water, electricity, communications, waste removal-- all of it down here in a world of its own. Once one sees the vastness of this man-made miracle, one can easily believe that Life could exist down here, unknown and unnoticed...."

"Good, that's much better. Let's get going, people, the day ain't gettin' shorter!"

Dan, receiving yet another touchup from the make-up artist (_"Don't you have anything that might make me look like I've a bit of dirt on my cheek?" "How about dirt?"_), sighed in exasperation. "Surely it's lunch time by now!"

"Dan, I told you, catering refuses to come down here. They'll meet us when we exit the drainage junction. It has street access. Now can we go?"

* * *

Leonardo, whistling a merry tune, strode through the tunnels, the folder firmly in his possession, and his (Future) Leadership position secure. He would so wow them all, Splinter would have to make him assistant sensei-- and all before he was eleven!

Each drip from the unseen roof, each clanking noise of a pipe, each splash of his foot in pooled water seemed to provide the rhythm to his Song of Victory that was carrying him along.

Soon he would read the rest of the kata! Soon he would be DOING the rest of the kata!

He glanced at the little alarm clock that he'd thoughtfully brought along. He knew exactly how long it would take him to get to the drainage junction, how long it would take Splinter to reach his first scavenging sight, how long his Sensei and Father would be gone, how long it would take Raph and Don to do their work, how long it would take Mike to fall asleep while sitting in the dojo, and how long it would take he, himself to return home before anyone was the wiser!

_Of course, I could read the kata as I go, and then that would save some time...._

Nope! He would be Patient! He was determined to not read one single solitary tiny word of the Holy Grail of Katas until he was Prepared as any true Master of Ninjitsu would be! He would do his warm-ups, he would review the first seven steps-- and then, and ONLY then, would he open the folder and commit to memory the other fifty-eight movements!

Patience was his middle name, after all! Patience was the one thing he definitely had mastered over his brothers!

Patience....

_Splinter had set them to finding quotes about patience. They had to be able to apply the quote to a real-life situation, and explain the lesson it was imparting._

_Leonardo, eager to please and competitive as always, had searched every book and magazine that they had managed to scavenge over the years, hoping to find THE most best quote about patience in the world!_

_He'd found quite a lot of great quotes, and struggled to decide which would be the one to beat his brothers' offerings! All of them would apply to the real-life example he was going to use (a nostalgic remembrance of when he'd bested his brothers at something or other in the dojo, and all because of his Patience)._

_Finally he'd narrowed the list down to four-- one by the Great Leonardo da Vinci (naturally, he had smugly thought), two Chinese proverbs, and a brilliant haiku by the brilliant Kobayashi Issa._

_But which to use? He felt that all four were perfect-- but were they perfect enough to earn him the Admiration of his Sensei and Father?_

_Nervously, he kept scanning his list as each of his brothers stood before Splinter to offer their quotes and explanations._

_Perhaps the Issa one? After all, it WAS in Japanese..._

_"mozu no koe kanninnbukuro yabureta ka"_

_(a shrike's voice--_

_did your bag of patience_

_break?)_

_Raphael got into immediate trouble with his quote and explanation-- Leo tried to remember what the quote was-- something about Patience being a naked woman laying under a banana tree, Leo still wasn't sure what it was all about, but Raph was assigned a lot of chores and flips for it, and he had to immediately destroy the magazine he'd found the quote in page by page while Splinter watched with Crossed Arms and a Fierce Expression on his face._

_Shame, that, it **did** have some very funny pictures in it as well.... there was that one of two vultures perched on a limb, and one was saying "Patience my ass..."_

_Raphael had wanted to use THAT as his quote, but Leonardo had Wisely talked him out of it, as any good (Future) Leader should. Trust Raphael to still manage to land in trouble._

_Maybe he'd use the Chinese one... "One moment of patience may ward off great disaster. One moment of impatience may ruin a whole life," and then relate it to Raphael and what had just happened...._

_Michelangelo had floored them all with the quote he'd found:_

_"You can learn many things from children. How much patience you have, for instance. ~Franklin P. Jones" and then he'd related a story about one of the countless times he had done something that had tried Splinter's patience._

_Splinter had chuckled for several minutes over that one._

_Leo was DYING to know what book Mike had found that in, but he now frantically started to race through his quotes that were so great, but which would be the best one to top them all? Belatedly he began to regret the limiting of himself to just four..._

_Perhaps the OTHER Chinese proverb? "Patience is power; with time and patience the mulberry leaf becomes silk." That sounds like something Sensei would say...._

_Donatello's had been:_

_"Beware the fury of a patient man. ~John Dryden, Absolam and Achitophel, 1680" He had then gone on to remind them of the last time Michelangelo had destroyed one of his most very precious and hardest projects ever attempted by himself, and how he'd earned a major punishment for the outcome._

_Figures he'd find one from some really old person. Leonardo once again looked at his quote from Leonardo Da Vinci:_

_"Patience serves as a protection against wrongs as clothes do against cold. For if you put on more clothes as the cold increases, it will have no power to hurt you. So in like manner you must grow in patience when you meet with great wrongs, and they will be powerless to vex your mind."_

_Perhaps he'd win based on how long ago the person being quoted lived? Then again, Issa's haiku was old... and it was in Japanese! Which to use? Which?? They all went with his story perfectly._

_What if he presented all four?_

_"Leonardo, it is now your turn," Splinter's voice panicked the young turtle. Hastily folding his list, he stood, bowed, and cleared his throat several times._

_"Leonardo," prompted Splinter after a few minutes of throat-clearing._

_"Sorry. My quote on 'patience'," Leonardo said, and cleared his throat again. Um..."_

_His mind was suddenly blank! One minute he had four perfect quotes etched in his memory, the next nothing!_

_"Leonardo," Splinter's voice jarred in his ears again, now accompanied by the stifled snickers of three brothers._

_Leonardo's mind, blank as a blank could be, was suddenly FLOODED with quote after quote after quote after quote after--_

_"Leonardo!"_

_"Patience my ass, I'm gonna go out and KILL something!"_

_Shocked silence. Leonardo, indignant, wondered which of his jealous brothers had tried to sabotage his moment-- only to come to the realization that all eyes were on him._

_Gulp._

_".... and.... and... the lesson of that.... quote...."_

_The valiant effort was wasted. Splinter dismissed the others, and then had had a LONG "discussion" with his eldest on the pitfalls of trying to be the Best at Everything._

Leonardo sighed at the unbidden and unfriendly memory. But that was when he'd been younger! When one is eight, one makes those mistakes, but now, NOW he was TEN! Double-digits!

Suddenly, he felt... well... Old.

"I am not a child any longer," he carefully said to himself, partly in wonder, partly in pride. "I am a TEENAGER!"

_"Nope, you are not a teenager yet," Little Angel Turtle chided him. "You aren't a teenager until you hit thirteen. That's where the 'teen' in 'teenager' comes from."_

_"Gotta side with Goody-Two Wings on this one," Little Devil Turtle chimed in. "But then again, yer not a child any more, that's for sure!"_

Before Little Angel Turtle could contradict him, Little Devil Turtle pushed Little Angel Turtle out of Leo's mind and joined the turtle in his Song of Victory.

* * *

"Are we there yet?"

"I've got a twenty that says there's a major blowup before we get there," the sound guy said to the make-up artist.

"That's a sucker bet," she scoffed at him. "But I've got a twenty that says Dan get accidentally pushed into the water before we get there."

"Who's talking sucker bets now?" the sound man snickered.

"Really, are we there yet? How the hell far is it? Couldn't we have just gone up to the street and then driven to the entrance?"

"We need the footage."

"Dan Wilder is not to be confused with 'footage'."

"Stop talking about yourself in the third person, and it's not much farther, and I am the Director, so I say you have to be here-- IN the FOOTAGE!"

* * *

_"C'mon, just one peek? Just one little peek into the folder? How do you know it's all there? You should look just to be sure."_

"It's all there! I already confirmed it," Leonardo held out against Little Devil Turtle, who kept tempting him to _"open that folder and make sure! HOW can you not be insulted by what Mike wrote as the title? You really should look...."_

Almost there... Leonardo found himself starting to run to get to the drainage junction. He had to force himself to slow down, go carefully, be calm. He had plenty of time! PLENTY!

Man, this was worse than having to wait to open presents on Christmas Day! Leo so much wanted to stop right there and then and shut up the nagging in his brain. But he was Determined to Wait!

Still, he did start walking faster. No harm in arriving earlier than he'd planned out.

Before he could believe it, he was at his destination!

The feeling that suddenly overpowered him was hard to describe. Excitement? Nervousness? Fear? Exultation? He felt like jumping around like crazy, as if he had to pee-- or was it more like feeling as if he could actually fly? He was so keyed up-- finally-- FINALLY-- he was going to know the secret of the Kusanku Kata-- finally, he, Hamato Leonardo, was going to begin mastering the most Difficult Kata on Earth!

His palms were sweating, and his throat was dry at the thought that he was doing something massive-- and something his Sensei and Father would either respect him for or ground him for life.

After all, Splinter WAS the Sensei... and the Sensei decides when the student is ready to learn something new....

And Leonardo could quote Splinter chapter and verse on everything to do with Senseis and Students.

As he stood there, the ticking of his little alarm clock began to break through his conflicted emotions, reminding him that he had little time to waste on second-guesses.

Carefully he placed the clock on top of the folder (which he put down with the title on the floor so he couldn't see the evil words of his evil brother) and began his warm-ups, a bit quickly and haphazardly, granted, despite his best efforts to control himself.

Then he launched into the first seven steps that he'd already mastered in a few short days.

_1. Look_

_2. Left pinan block_

_3. Right pinan block_

_4. Pull_

_5. Knife hand_

_6. Right punch, outside block_

_7. Left punch, outside block_

Oh, yes, that was the smoothest run-through yet! And now to view the rest!

Sinking into a kneeling position, he carefully picked up the folder. His heart was racing with excitement, and he noticed that his hands were shaking just a little bit. He closed his eyes, drawing in steadying breaths, and then, when he felt calm, he opened the folder and found the second page.

Mike, usually a sloppy writer, had been meticulous in his efforts to copy this kata.

_8. Pull_

_9. Kick, turn, pinan block_

_10. Pinan block_

_11. Pinan block_

_12. Knife hand_

_13. High block_

_14. Kick and down_

_15. Naihanchi, side block_

_16. High block_

_17. Kick and down_

_18. Naihanchi, side block_

_19. Pull_

_20. Kick, elbow and pull_

_21. Kick, elbow_

_22. Pinan block_

_23. Pinan block_

_24. Turn, pinan block_

_25. Pinan block_

_26. High block_

Leonardo slammed the folder shut, and hugged it to his plastron, emotions bubbling forth. This... this was the bestest day in his entire life!

_Master Ninja Leonardo was overwhelmed by the importance of the blue silk scroll. Never again would these words be exposed to the Unworthy, this he swore!_

Leonardo opened the folder again, determined to read no farther-- he would concentrate only on steps eight through twenty-six, then he would rush home and copy the rest down before replacing the folder in Mike's notebook!

Reading and rereading the page, he stood, and began the step-by-step process... the words seemed to burn themselves into his memory, he was so good at this!!

_Pull... kick, turn, pinan block...pinan block... pinan block... knife hand... high block... kick and down... Naihanchi, side block...._

Leonardo, lost in the beauty of this thing he was doing, didn't hear the approach of the camera crew until....

"Are we there YET?"

"YES, we're there, now shut the HELL UP!"

"Told you someone would blow up."

Without thinking, Leonardo grabbed his clock and folder and vanished into the closest tunnel-- which of course, was no where near the one that had brought him here.

From his hiding place in the shadows, he witnessed something he'd never seen in his entire life-- more humans than he was used to, some dressed rather interestingly, carrying equipment that Donatello would have been able to identify quickly but he had to figure out from conversations of the intruders-- a television crew? HERE? What the.... Wait until Splinter finds out!

_"Dude, Splinter **can't** find out," Little Devil Turtle whispered from his hiding place in Leo's mind. "He'll hit the roof!"_

_"But he **has **to warn Splinter," Little Angel Turtle argued, hiding with L.D.T. "It's his duty as a (future) Leader!"_

"Okay, let's get this shot set up people!" the little man was ordering needlessly. Everyone knew their job, but still, he WAS the Director. It was to be expected that he'd tell them all what to do.

"Yeah, the sooner we get this over with, the sooner we eat," Dan Wilder said, carefully checking his looks in the ever-present mirror of the make-up girl.

Leonardo knew he needed to get out of there, but it was fascinating, watching these humans set up portable lights, steady the camera, and extend some sort of long pole with what Leo guessed was a microphone over the guy the lady was now powdering down with a huge puffy thing.

"And... action."

"We're here in this huge drainage junction," Dan began, voice echoing around the large chamber. "Notice the many openings that spill into here-- some only large enough for a rat, some big enough to drive an armored truck through-- and below us, a huge pool of water with some whirling fan at the bottom. This place is a crossroads of sorts, a place that--"

Suddenly, the alarm that Leo had set on his little clock began to ring like crazy.

Everyone looked around, wondering how the heck someone's phone could work down here, then realizing the noise was coming from the one tunnel.

"What the.... LOOK!" shouted the camera man, who happened to turn at the right moment to see some sort of movement. "Someone-- something's in that tunnel!"

"Quick! Get some footage! Get some FOOTAGE!"

"OH my God, it's GREEN!"

"Get the shot get the shot get the shot!"

Leo, accidentally caught in an unlucky spotlight that had unfortunately crossed over him during the hunt for the sound, wasted no time vanishing into the dark.

"Quick! FOLLOW it!"

"What about lunch?"

"DAN, go eat your freaking lunch, this is BIG, c'mon, guys!" and the director, the camera crew, the make-up artist, sound guy, lights guy, and Joseph Anthony Moschella, City worker, all took off down the tunnel Leonardo had vanished into.

Dan Wilder stood there, suddenly alone and unsure of which way to go to reach the catering truck.

"Damn it," he muttered, and then "Wait for me! I'm the STAR after all!"


	11. Chapter 11

_Still hard at work on this. I've got two ways I want something to happen, and I can't decide which is better- but I hope to update again in another week. Thanks to those who have stuck with this little adventure to Leo-Ego land._

_**TMNT** are the property of Viacom and everyone needs to go buy "Turtles Forever" on DVD even though it's been trimmed so they'll be encouraged to continue making Turtle shows!_

**Stalking the Green-Eyed Monster**

_Sun Tzu says:_

_2. When a chieftain is fighting in his own territory,_

_it is dispersive ground._

_11. On dispersive ground, therefore, fight not..._

Leonardo knew the underground in ways that no city worker could ever dream of. He and his brothers could travel these dark and forbidding passageways with all the ease and unconcern of the typical surface dweller winding their way through the vast canyons and pathways of the Big Apple. Indeed, it was in some ways safer to be underground than above, though there are those (like the tourist industry) who would dispute that opinion.

Leo was confident in his ability to easily escape these silly surface dwellers without having to fight them. His main concern was reaching home before Master Splinter.

As he trudged along, the sound of pursuit long faded from his keen hearing, his mind slowly twisted itself back to the kata.

He'd only had a chance to perform the next few moves twice, maybe three times before the unexpected interruption, but as he replayed the actions in his sharp little mind, he could just TELL that he'd pretty much done them with such grace and strength, that there was no way it would take him ten years to master it.

_Too bad those people interrupted me. I was on my way to performing the kata in its entirety! Ah well, there will always be tomorrow. I've gotta get home and at least copy this paper before Mike and Splinter find out anything!_

And he picked up speed because a cautious (Future) Leader must be Ever Vigilant, and therefore, though he knew those humans were miles away from him by now, he had to risk the roundabout way home, just to Be Sure.

* * *

"For the last time, shut UP!"

The crew, busy taking bets on who would throw the first punch, paid little attention to their "expert", who was the only one still examining the map as well as the "tunnel" where they'd seen the creature.

Joseph Anthony Moschella, crisp new uniform having taken on the usual look of an underground worker, tuned out the "drama" playing behind him. His flashlight went from the schematics in one hand to illuminating this new junction the tunnel had led them to, then back to the map. There were several other junctions and offshoots further ahead, but Joe was convinced that the thing, whatever it was, would probably take the closest one that branched off to the right of this one.

After all, if it had been HIM being chased, he would have taken the first turn he'd come to. Stands to reason that this whateveritwas wouldn't continue straight ahead. The next junction was just too far off for safety.

At least, it seemed so to Joe.

While the director and the "star" continued their near-fight, Joe ventured several yards into the side tunnel, tuning out the echoing shouts behind him, straining eyes and ears to catch something other than these noisy people.

Normal underground sounds began to be more noticeable- dripping, strange random clanks and rattlings- subway must be near by, he could somehow tell when a train was passing-

The further he ventured, the more the sounds seemed to intensify, including this strange, rhythmic thumping accompanied by a rapid, intermittent whistle.

Then he realized his heart was pounding, and his breathing was rather intense, and he forced himself to calm down.

Focusing on the floor in front of him and the walls around him, he thought he could tell that someone or something had been through here. It just looked... disturbed somehow.

And then something illuminated in the searching beam of his light caught his attention. Drawn to it like his wife to an open candy box, Joe followed the beam to a small, shiny key.

Lying on top of the usual sewer filth, the key stuck out like Tony Curtis's accent in "The Prince Who Was A Thief", a twinkling star amidst the sludge.

Joe picked it up. It looked like it came from one of those toys that you wind up, or a clock...

Yes, a clock! That was a clock alarm they'd heard, right? So this little green creature was carrying a wind-up clock, and while it was escaping, it accidentally dropped this key!

Ignoring the nagging question in his mind about why a green frog creature would even need an alarm clock, Joseph Anthony Moschella cheerfully turned back to fetch the others.

This would stop their fighting.

Hell, this might even make HIM the star of his OWN show!

* * *

_Sun Tzu says:_

_3. When [the enemy] has penetrated into hostile territory,_

_but to no great distance, it is facile ground._

_11. ... On facile ground, halt not..._

As he went along, justifying in his mind the safety of the situation, he found that he'd started doing the first seven katas. He glanced at his clock. He had dropped it earlier, but a quick assessment at that moment showed him that it was still working.

Now that he wasn't in such a rush, he was pleased to see that despite the need to beat a hasty retreat and take this extra-long, extra-confusing way home, he had some time left!

_Maybe I could do one quick run-through of what I practiced today? No, I really should get home. But it wouldn't take long... and at the same time, it would show me if I'm being followed. I could hear them coming a mile away in this stretch of tunnel!_

Something tickled the back of his mind; some quote or saying or other struggled to break forth through the barrier that was known as the Best and Most Hardest Kata Ever in the Entire World for Leonardo to Master Before Michelangelo, but it struggled and fought a hopeless battle.

With a gland around, and a most careful one minute of holding his breath and straining his well-trained ninja ears to filter out the typical noises of the tunnels as they sought the telling sounds of approaching danger, Leo came to the conclusion that he had successfully thrown off pursuit!

Well of course he had! He WAS ninja after all!

He pulled the paper from his folder and glanced again at the moves. With a sudden surge of excitement, he saw that steps twenty-seven through thirty-four were the original ones Mike had so carelessly let slip so long ago in the dojo!

**27. Kick, down up, step behind, seisan**

**28. Punch punch**

**29. Down**

**30. Up, double strike**

**31. Down and strike**

**32. Right seisan, block**

**33. Punch punch turn**

**34. Punch punch**

"I know these! Oh, boy, do I know these!" and he eagerly got into position, determined to run through steps one through thirty-four right then and there!

There in the gloom of the safety lights, dimmed with grime and low power, Leonardo, (future) master ninja, began what surely must be the most beautiful, most skilled, and most impressive run-through of the kata ever to be performed by a ten-year-old student ever in the history of the entire world of katas!

"I wish I could see myself!" he breathlessly uttered to a couple of stray sewer rats who were peering at him from the safety of an old, broken pipe. "It looks good, doesn't it? Good enough to hold the attention of you two, anyway!"

And with the glow of confidence lighting his face, Leonardo once again launched into the first thirty-four steps of the kata.

_Surrounded, Ninja Master Leonardo knew that there was only one way to escape the fate of becoming the Daimyo's prisoner. He would have to use the very same kata that the vain Daimyo had tried to keep for himself._

_Barely shaking his head in bemusement at what was about to become of these foolish guards, Ninja Master Leonardo calmly got into position, eyeing each and every soldier who menaced him with drawn weapons and surly grimaces on their nervous faces. They perhaps sensed that their time was about to come, and not in a good way._

_And then it began, on perfect cue!_

_"Get the ninja scum who stole our master's kata!" shouted the leader of the guards, standing safely at a distance._

_"We will not fail!" they responded, moving in to meet Defeat at the hands of Master Ninja Leonardo._

_The first ten guards fell as Ninja Master Leonardo perfectly executed the first dozen moves of the kata._

_"For the honor of our Daimyo! Kill the ninja scum!"_

_"Quick, bring more weapons!"_

_"Hold that camera steady! Quick, someone shine the light on it!"_

_"Wait a minute, make-up needs to fix my hair!"_

_Hair?_

Leo, jolted out of his daydream, momentarily froze as the sound of running feet, heavy breathing and random snatches of curses and shouts echoed down the tunnel, and the Daimyo's guards vanished in a heartbeat.

By the time they arrived at the spot, nothing was there for them to film.

The director looked around frantically.

"Where did it go? Where did it go? I SAW it! It can't have just vanished into thin air! It CAN'T have!"

"Well evidently it can," Dan said, brushing his hand across the top of his hair wiping away some dirt that was sifting lightly down from above. "I told you to not be so loud, we need to sneak up on this creature."

"Look," Joe interrupted, drawing their attention back to the map. "There are several ways it could have gone. Straight ahead, then left, or up and over" and he aimed the beam above them where they could see an opening in the wall above them."

"So what, you're saying this thing can fly?" Dan chuckled.

Joe, with an angry look on his face, pointed to the maintenance rungs embedded in the wall.

"Ah. Well, whose to say it didn't go straight forward and to the left?"

"Maybe because those cobwebs up ahead haven't been touched in a while", Joe patiently pointed out, "while we're bein' dusted with filth that's been knocked loose from above."

And to emphasize that statement, Joe ran a finger over Dan's jacket and showed him in the beam of light the newest layer of grime to coat them all. Even as he held the flashlight, they could see a few more stray particles gently float through the glow.

"Up and over it is then," Dan said, and as he started up the grimy, slimy metal rungs, he said over his shoulder, "Make sure you get me at a good angle in this shot. I want you to capture my best feature."

It was amazing how many of them, Joe included, thought variations on _"But an ass-shot is more appropriate. It fits your personality."_

_

* * *

_

_Sun Tzu says:_

_4. Ground the possession of which imports great_

_advantage to either side, is contentious ground._

_11. On dispersive ground, therefore, fight not._

_On facile ground, halt not. **On contentious ground,**_

_**attack not.**_

_47. **On contentious ground, I would hurry up my rear.**_

Leo hurried up his rear and got the hell out of there, not waiting to see what he already knew- that they would follow. All his thoughts at the moment were on moving even further and further away.

Above all, he must NOT lead them back to the lair!

Faintly the sounds of pursuit could be heard, even as he reached the end of this short pipe and descended down to the larger passage. Left was the way he'd normally go, but with these crazy humans behind him, he'd have to go right, taking them- and himself- further from home.

"Are you getting all of this?" the voice of the director wafted down from above.

"As much as I can considering the circumstances," came the surly reply of the put-upon cameraman. "You'd better hope I don't run out of 'memory'."

Leo kept to the shadows, moving as quietly and as quickly as only he could. Unfortunately, his options were few regarding directions. The next few branches were still far away. But even as he ran, he knew that the pipes above could offer him some protection. And he had his tanto if cornered.

And his kata.

First tunnel on the left... should he risk it? Or go further and only make them THINK he'd taken the left turn?

"Wait, can't we film that bit again, where I say how we're about to bust one of the greatest quests we've ever had in the underground?"

"No because it sucks sewer water," the director huffed and puffed. He wasn't used to such exertion, and he was regretting not bringing along an assistant director to do all this running for him, while he followed at a more leisurely pace.

A crash of something reverberated up and down the tunnels, followed by a lot of words that Raph would have found interesting to say the least.

"Jeeze, do you know how expensive those lights are?" someone shouted.

Leo decided to move forward. They'd be busy picking up whatever it was they'd dropped (he hoped) and the more straight distance he put between himself and them, the better.

Yet this couldn't go on forever. He had to Do Something! That's what (future) Leaders do- Something!

But what?

His mind raced with various options that he embraced even as he discarded them. Leaving a false trail was appealing, but then that might encourage them to actually return again and again. He could tell that they were Determined. They would find their way back to these tunnels at a later date, and probably bring even more humans with them.

They wouldn't be satisfied until they found "something"... anything...

Something. Some THING...

And then it hit him like a lightning bolt- he knew the "something" they could find!

He skidded to a stop and listened carefully, straining his ears back the way he'd come. Now that he had a plan, he needed the humans... but what if they'd taken the left turn instead of straight forward?

For a few minutes, all he heard were the usual sounds- dripping water, the occasional groan of a pipe- his own heartbeat- and then, the echoing sound of "pursuit".

"See, its been this way, I can tell!" came the faint sound of the city worker.

Leo grinned in the dark, looking towards the place he was heading, then back the way he'd come, waiting to see the first glimmer of flashlights.

As soon as the faintest sliver of light flashed in his direction, he started off, careful to not lose them, but also careful to not be exposed too much.

_Sun Tzu says:_

_6. Ground which forms the key to three contiguous states,_

_so that he who occupies it first has most of the Empire_

_at his command, is a ground of intersecting highways._

_12. On open ground, do not try to block the enemy's way._

_**On the ground of intersecting highways, join hands**_

_**with your allies.**_

_48. On open ground, I would keep a vigilant eye_

_on my defenses. **On ground of intersecting highways,**_

_**I would consolidate my alliances.**_

"I see it!"

"Damn, what th- stupid narrow-"

"Watch the equipment! Don't drop it!"

"Hey, something touched my hair!"

"The hell with your hair, don't LOSE it!"

"Stop waving those lights around, you're making it hard to film it!"

_Ninja Master Leonardo, pursued by the Daimyo's guards, smiled to himself in the dark. He allowed light from one of the pursuer's lanterns to briefly illuminate him before skillfully vanishing into the dark. He knew they'd continue to follow him, heedless of their own safety-_

"OUCH! Damn it, I'm gonna sue the city of New York! This place is unsafe!"

"Dan, for the love of God, SHUT UP!" The director shouted, causing the tunnels to ring with many echoes. Leo laughed to himself as he raced ahead to his ground of intersecting highways.

Splashing through the water, making just enough sound to be followed, Leo made for his destination.

Soon he reached the boarded off section of the sewer, where he and Raph had been once before. Master Splinter had said to never go in that direction, but Raphael as usual thought he knew better.

_" 'Splinter sez, Splinter sez!' When are ya' gonna think for yerself? That's what a REAL leader does! Now, catch me if you can!"_

Quickly he worked a few boards loose, then waited.

He would have to time this carefully.

Light from the other tunnel grew to the point that it overpowered the glow of the safety lights that normally lit these tunnels. The noise of human voices arguing, cursing, panting, soon filled the air, and Leo, poised at the opening of his new direction, mentally crossed his fingers.

"Damn, this one's got water in it! These boots better hold up-" Dan Wilder was complaining as he entered first, the camera's rolling on his back.

"Dan! We're gonna have to loop this entire episode if you don't get a grip!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever... THERE! There it IS! Quick! Quick! Give me the camera!"

Dan Wilder, gaping at the brief glimpse of some green "thing" vanishing into the next tunnel, briefly struggled with the cameraman, trying to wrestle the thing away from the cameraman who was vigorously holding onto his equipment, shouting something about "union rules".

Leonardo didn't stop to listen. Timing was of the essence, as well as time itself. The channel was flowing steadily, and Leonardo hoped that he wouldn't hit any obstructions as he "surfed" along on a flat board.

Up ahead was his destination. He stopped well before reaching the pool where his "ally" lived, and carefully approached the opening.

"I hope he's still in there," he allowed himself to say aloud, albeit softly. His plan depended upon this.

The sound of pursuit grew as the group came splashing noisily through the tunnel. Leo edged himself out of the tunnel and along the narrow ledge that circled the pool. Soon he came to a place where he could climb up into a smaller run off tunnel. Lying on his plastron, he got into position to watch the show about to start.

"Quiet, quiet, QUIET!" the director shouted, and Leo could tell that they'd paused just before the opening. "You, Mr. Moschella- where does this lead to?"

The rustle of the maps told Leo that they were being cautious. But he knew they'd come forward. They HAD to come forward.

"I'm not sure. This section was boarded off, but I've no idea why. There's a large collection area there, so we'll have to stick to the ledge around the sides unless ya want to swim across."

"Think that frog thing lives there?" Dan said, forehead creased with worry wrinkles. "It must, right? I mean, it's a frog- makes sense if it lives in this pool."

"Get the lights set up- YES, I know one is broken, get the remainder set up!" The director got down to business, dismissing their expert guide who was studying the plans and was now trying to voice a concern. "Dan, the camera will parallel you. Stick to the center of this stream, and don't blow this shot! Everyone- quiet is the word!"

"But I need something to say-"

"Say NOTHING! We'll dub it in later!"

Dan frowned.

"Dan Wilder speaks to the camera as he goes along," Dan said disdainfully. "I'll ad-lib something."

"Fine, fine, FINE, just do it QUIETLY! We don't wanna scare it off!"

Lights illuminated the tunnel, causing a glow to spread out from the opening that would give Leo an excellent view of what was about to happen.

"Carefully we approach the forbidding pool, searching for the mysterious frog creature that we've been relentlessly pursuing," the tones of the unseen host filled the chamber. Sloshing and splashing from the run-off agitated the pool, and Leo strained his eyes to see if he could detect any movement, any ripple, any wavelet that was not caused by the liquid pouring into the vast underground pond.

"We reach the end of the pipe, and gaze about," Dan said, now standing in the open mouth, camera man and sound guy as close as possible without falling in.

Dan gazed into the pool, head poised just so, expression just so.

"Is this the home of the mysterious being? Have we tracked it to its lair?" The words were whispered in that perfect, dramatic pitch he'd cultivated so carefully.

"Lean out a bit farther," the camera man suggested. "Better yet, kneel down a bit so I can get you in the close-up of the water."

Leo watched as the man did as suggested. Grinning in the dark, he picked up a few stray bits of junk, and waited.

Just as Dan Wilder, host of the famous show "Quest Busters of the Underworld," gazed up at the camera and said, "It seems quiet. Maybe even too quiet," Leo tossed a small bit of trash into the pool.

The albino crocodile was still in residence it seemed.

"JEEEEZUSSS FREAKING CHRIIII-!"

**~tbc~**


	12. Chapter 12

_Hello! I think I've finally broken through this writers block. Hopefully you've not lost interest. _

_TMNT now belong to Nickelodeon, but if they're using it, you can't prove it by me. Jell-O® belongs to the Kraft Corp. I never knew they used to make chocolate Jell-O®...  
_

**Stalking the Green-Eyed Monster**

_1. Sun Tzu said: In the practical art of war, the best_

_thing of all is to take the enemy's country whole and intact;_

_to shatter and destroy it is not so good. So, too, it is_

_better to recapture an army entire than to destroy it,_

_to capture a regiment, a detachment or a company entire_

_than to destroy them._

_2. Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles_

_is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists_

_in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting._

_

* * *

Dan gazed into the pool, head poised just so, expression just so._

"_Is this the home of the mysterious being? Have we tracked it to its lair?"_

"_Lean out a bit farther," the cameraman suggested. "Better yet, kneel down a bit so I can get you in the close-up of the water."_

_Leo watched as the man did as suggested. Grinning in the dark, he picked up a few stray bits of junk, and waited. _

_Just as Dan Wilder, host of the famous show "Quest Busters of the Underworld," gazed up at the camera and said, "It seems quiet. Maybe even too quiet."_

_Leo tossed a small bit of trash into the pool._

_The albino crocodile was still in residence it seemed. _

"_JEEEEZUSSS FREAKING CHRIIII-!"_

_

* * *

_

Leo tried and tried to not make a sound on the way home. But as his mind replayed again and again the screams, the curses, and the sheer action of many humans trying to outrun the huge albino crocodile, he could feel the beginnings of a huge laugh building up in his chest, threatening to burst forth in an explosion of noisy humor that would put one of Mike's belly-guffaws to shame.

"It really is bad of me to laugh at those poor foolish humans," he "chided" himself aloud, trying to be in control. "But it WAS funny. I knew it was a clever plan, but I didn't realize just how funny it would be!"

And, confident in the knowledge that, to quote the great Sun Tzu, he had broken the enemy's resistance without fighting—he had won!

"_My God, My God, My God RUN!"_

"_Freaking hell, get out of my way!"_

"_AAAAAAAAEEEEEEEEE!"_

"_Get it on film!"_

"_Hit it with a stick!"_

"_YOU hit it with a stick, dumbass! RUN!"_

"_GET it on film! Get it on FILM!"_

"_Get out of my way! My contract says ME first out of danger!"_

Leo had followed as best as he could, to make sure that those who survived actually climbed out of the sewers. There had been a distinct moment when, watching them trying to scurry up a ladder to the next level, they had for a few minutes kept pulling each other down in their own efforts to escape, when he had laughed aloud—but no one had noticed it, no one had spared even a glance in his direction. They spent their attention on trying to see if the crocodile had followed while attempting to get the hell out of there in one piece.

But they managed finally to get out, and Leo was unable to keep up with them. He did follow long enough to satisfy himself that all signs indicated that they had left the sewers. Backtracking, he found no indication that anyone had ended up as lunch for the giant albino reptile. Ah well. Probably for the best. They might have decided to return and hunt the croc down and kill it.

Now, on the way home, he allowed himself to laugh again—a good, long, loud laugh that reverberated through the tunnels, multiplying in volume and making it sound as if the entire world was laughing with him.

As he laughed, Don came to mind. He'd been in one of his investigative moods, and had decided to research laughter.

"_What's to research?" Mike had wanted to know. "You laugh when things are funny or when you get tickled or when you get a present or when you play a good joke. Big deal."_

"_It is a big deal, Mike," Scientific Don had replied. "Laughter is found in all humans and among some animals, but not turtles, and as we are turtles, I want to know how we developed the ability to laugh. After all, we're not humans."_

"_Splinter laughs," Leo had loyally pointed out, "and he's not human."_

"_But he is a mammal, and a rat, and scientists have discovered that rats can laugh, only when they get older they don't laugh as much."_

"_Ohhhh…. So that explains why he didn't find that exploding teapot so funny," Mike realized._

"_No, he didn't find it funny 'cause it exploded hot tea all over him, doofus," Raph had replied._

"_Anyway, it seems like a waste of time to me," Mike continued. "Why study it when you can do it? Here comes the TICKLE NINJA!"_

_Don had easily sidestepped his brother's attack, causing Leo and Raph to laugh. Immediately he put pencil to notebook, furiously writing while mumbling stuff about "stimuli" and "gelotology"._

"_Jell-O®-tall-agee?" Mike immediately latched onto the word, Tickle Ninja forgotten for the moment. "What's 'Jell-O®-tall-agee'?"_

"_Gelotology is the study of laughter and its effects on the human—or in this case, turtle—body."_

"_Laughter? Don't you mean 'Jell-O®'? Why call it 'Jell-O®-tall-agee' if it's about laughter? Why not call it 'laughter-tall-agee'? That makes more sense."_

_Don simply stared at Mike._

"_I mean, really, things should be called what they are! 'Jell-O®-tall-agee' should be the studying of Jell-O® and its effects on the turtle body—especially THIS turtle's body! I think we still have a box or three in the kitchen!" And he had immediately run off to mix up some tasty strawberry-kiwi Jell-O®, bemoaning the fact that the Jell-O® company no longer made chocolate and bubble gum flavors…._

Don certainly hadn't found that funny.

Don.

Leo suddenly remembered that he should have been home a LONG time ago! Don and Raph would eventually be done with their writing assignments. Maybe they'd even gotten up to use the bathroom. He needed to get home!

The little clock he still carried, along with his precious stolen copy of the Best and Most Hardest Kata Ever in the Entire World for Leonardo to Master Before Michelangelo, indicated that it was almost PAST the expected time of Splinter's return!

Leo, with all the skill and speed he possessed, raced home as only a Desperate Rule-Breaking Turtle trying to beat an Unsuspecting Parent back to the lair could race.

Voices stopped him just before he came into sight of the hidden entrance.

"I'm tellin' ya, he's taken off!" Raph's irritated tones echoed up the tunnel.

"I think it's a trick," Don's voice, sounding just as irritated as his brother's, also wafted towards Leo. "He's hiding somewhere, I'm sure of it."

Leo stealthily crept forward and soon saw two Bad Turtles out of the lair and in the tunnel! Raph was halfway up towards the far end, while Don held the door open.

Righteous indignation oozed from every pore.

_Boy, you two are gonna be in so much trouble! How dare you go out of the lair when Master Splinter said to stay inside? Man, some guys have to be watched all the time_.

"Well I think that he's run off to do something, even though Splinter said stay in the lair. That's what I woulda done if I'd been in charge. LeoNERDo isn't perfect after all!"

_Well, in my case, it's different! After all, I AM better than you, Hamato Raphael._

"That's not news," Don said, and Leo could feel real anger building up inside him.

_And you, Hamato Donatello, are not as smart as you think you are, lurking out here in the tunnels instead of being inside where you are supposed to be. Honestly, you listen too much to Raph. I must get you to…._

"We've searched the entire lair," Don went on. "But I'm still convinced he's hiding, just to catch us out."

"We've searched the entire lair," Raph agreed. "Every known hiding place there is. Don, the lair ain't exactly Central Park. There ain't many places the mighty Leonardo can hide! I'm tellin' ya, he's taken off!"

Don, scanning the area, moved off in the same direction as Raph. Leo, seeing his chance, immediately worked his way from shadow to shadow, and with a perfectly timed leap, gained access to the home—and contemplated slamming and locking the door on his wayward brothers.

But the folder under his arm reminded him he had other things to deal with first, so for the moment he let them keep searching.

A quick, stealthy look into the dojo showed him Mike sound asleep; a thin line of drool was escaping from the corner of his mouth, and his arms cuddled one of the practice dummies for a pillow.

Quickly, Leo ran to his own room and stashed the notes with the kata into his own notebook, then replaced them with a few blank pages. He knew that Splinter would keep Mike on punishment when he got home, so Leo would have time before they went to bed to copy the kata and then replace the original in Mike's folder.

A quick trip to Splinter's room to put the folder in the blue binder, just to be safe, and then he casually strolled out to chide the other two.

"What are you two doing out there?" Leo demanded from the doorway in his bestest, sternest (Future) Leader voice. It took much control for him not to smirk at the way Raph and Don had jumped in shock, though the looks on their faces did draw the beginnings of a smile to Leo's own visage.

One hand on the door knob, one fist on his hip, he glared his best Furious Glare at them, and then gestured with a pointing finger in the direction of the living room, not even deigning to voice the command.

"Where the hell were ya?" Raph demanded as Don entered first. But Leonardo once again pointed to the couch, brow creased in severe displeasure, mouth turned downward into as grim an appearance he could muster.

Raph wasn't phased.

"You were out and ya snuck in just when we went out to look for ya," Raph accused, but Leo merely gestured once again towards the couch.

"Ya can't fool me, Leo! I tore this place apart lookin' for ya. You were outside, and Splinter told us all to stay in! Admit it!"

"Couch! Now!" Leo snapped.

"You was out of the lair!"

"I was never out of the lair," Leo calmly asserted. "You just aren't that good at finding me. Now, for the last time, get inside and sit down on that couch!"

Raph crossed his arms, getting ready to refuse, when the sound of Splinter's little wagon signaled his approach. He scooted inside and leaped onto the couch, right next to Don, looking like the perfect angel child and leaving Leo holding the door open.

"Why is that door open?"

Leo gulped.

"Um…. I had to…."

"Never mind, help me with these supplies. Quickly!" Splinter wasted little time in getting his wagon safely inside. For a brief moment he ducked back outside, but was in again before Leo could find out what he was about.

Once in, Splinter seemed to give a sigh of relief.

"I am sorry to be so late," he said as the three came to unload and put away what their sensei had returned with. "But the tunnels were full of activity today. There were many humans around, searching for something, and I had to take many different paths home just to be safe. I am certain that they were near the old drainage junction earlier, from what I overheard. Leonardo, you are not to go there until I can ascertain if they pose a future threat."

"Hai, Sensei," Leo bowed even as he stored the canned goods in the cupboard."

"Now, did you two finish your assignments?" Splinter asked as he put the kettle on to make some much needed tea.

"Yeah, we finished," Don said.

"An hour ago," Raph added with a very meaningful glance at Leo. "And then we played 'hide and seek' with Leo."

Splinter, occupied with his tea and the remaining supplies, merely said "that is good, my sons. I will read them after supper. I was able to get some spaghetti today, so we will have that I think. And a nice spinach salad to go with it."

He turned to Leonardo.

"Go and summon Michelangelo from the dojo. He may watch television with you all until dinner."

"Do I allow him to retrieve his notebook, Sensei?"

"No, that will remain with me. I want peace and quiet for the next hour. I will fix supper."

Leo went to get Mike, and as he walked, he felt taller than he'd ever felt in his life. The realization of everything that had taken place today was beginning to hit him.

He stopped at the dojo, struck in thought.

He'd snuck out of the lair, despite orders to the contrary. He'd led human intruders to almost Certain Death (well, maybe not death, but still…). He'd managed to make his brothers look like the rule breakers by getting back inside without being seen. He had even beaten his father home, and the rat was none the wiser for his earlier absence.

And he had nearly mastered the Kata of all Katas!

No wonder he felt so tall… he was Almost a Grown-Up!

And with this euphoric feeling carrying him on, he woke up his brother with a promise of watching "Spiderman and his Amazing Friends" with him.

_**T.B.C.**_


	13. Chapter 13

_I have had the mother and father of all writers block. I am sorry that I let this one almost go the way of "Ghosts". I am hoping to get it finished in the way I envisioned it so long ago when I started it. _

"_TMNT" belong to Viacom and Nickelodeon (shudders). _

**Stalking the Green-Eyed Monster**_  
_

_Last time:_

_Leo went to get Mike, and as he walked, he felt taller than he'd ever felt in his life. The realization of everything that had taken place today was beginning to hit him._

_He stopped at the dojo, struck in thought._

_He'd snuck out of the lair, despite orders to the contrary. He'd led human intruders to almost Certain Death (well, maybe not death, but still…). He'd managed to make his brothers look like the rule breakers by getting back inside without being seen. He had even beaten his father home, and the rat was none the wiser for his earlier absence._

_And he had nearly mastered the Kata of all Katas!_

_No wonder he felt so tall… he was Almost a Grown-Up!_

_And with this euphoric feeling carrying him on, he woke up his brother with a promise of watching "Spiderman and his Amazing Friends" with him._

**The Art of War**

_Sun Tzu says:_

_25. Regard your soldiers as your children, and they_

_will follow you into the deepest valleys; look upon them_

_as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you_

_even unto death._

"Michelangelo, you must chew your food before you swallow or else you will choke."

"Raphael, the fork is an instrument designed for eating food, not for throwing it."

"Donatello, I glanced at your assignment before supper. Your penmanship is very nice, but you misspelled several words—SENSEI! Donatello just threw a meatball at me!"

"Perhaps you need to recall your position in this family, my son. I am the father, not you. Please refrain from annoying your brothers."

The snickering of the others was faint but Leo had no trouble hearing it. He forced himself to not be embarrassed, and instead bowed a polite "I'm sorry, Sensei" to Splinter before carefully twirling the Right Amount of spaghetti onto his fork, then just as carefully spearing HALF of a meatball (also the Right Amount) and THEN carefully transporting it all to his mouth, where he chewed twenty-seven times before swallowing.

At this rate, the others would be eating dessert before Leonardo had finished half of his meal, but Adults do not bolt their food. Adults eat like—well, Adults.

He glanced at the others without seeming to.

Mike was the messiest—honestly, that boy still needs a bib. His plastron, "protected" by a napkin, was nevertheless decorated in spaghetti sauce and a few stray pieces of pasta that had escaped the death-maul known as Mike's mouth. He was a happy eater, and happiest when it was spaghetti.

Mike twirled his fork in the huge pile of noodles as if he were fighting an enemy with his 'chuk, and then hoisted an unwieldy amount of it into the air, long pieces trailing from the fork across the plate and table. It looked like he had half his serving on that one fork, there was so much.

Then, to Leo's usual amazement, he stuffed it all into his mouth where he chewed quickly and carelessly, only taking time to slurp up any remaining strands with as much noise and gusto as possible.

The final straw was when he tossed a meatball high into the air with his hand and caught it in his mouth.

"Michelangelo, remember your manners!" Leo snapped.

"Leonardo, remember yours," came the sharp reprimand of his Sensei and Father. "Michelangelo, I do not want you to do that again. Remember your…" Splinter was going to say "manners", but caught himself just in time—"… napkin and use it, my son. You are making a large mess."

Leonardo watched as Don and Raph played with their food in ways similar to Mike, though not so as to attract any real notice (except for the brief flair-up when Don had suggested to Raph they try the "Lady and the Tramp" spaghetti scene and Raph had gotten reprimanded by Splinter for using Inappropriate Language at the table when a simple "No" would have been sufficient). No one could compete with Mike when it came to eating spaghetti, it seemed. He shook his head, and returned his attention to his own meal.

Leonardo's place at the table was practically immaculate. The only other place that was as clean (if not cleaner) was Splinter's. Surely this was visual proof that Leonardo was indeed an Adult!

_Sun Tzu says:_

_26. If, however, you are indulgent, but unable to make_

_your authority felt; kind-hearted, but unable to enforce_

_your commands; and incapable, moreover, of quelling disorder: _

_then your soldiers must be likened to spoilt children;_

_they are useless for any practical purpose._

_Hmmm…they are rather spoilt and useless at the moment. I've been too kind-hearted, I guess. Well, they'll feel my authority once I do that new kata_, he mused, getting back to business with his meal. _Splinter will HAVE to acknowledge me as his second-in-command and put ME in charge of their training at once!_

With his happy thoughts of the kata and lording it over his brothers, I mean, leading his brothers, he picked up his pace of eating. Don and Raph were on kitchen duty tonight, and Splinter would be going over their assignments—when he wasn't intervening in the usual trouble of Raph's insisting that Don wasn't washing right, he was leaving too much food crud on the plates so they would all get sick just because of some evil experiment of his, while Don would be using all sorts of Big Words to piss Raph off because he thought Don was insulting him… which, of course, he was, but just exactly HOW he was insulting him Raph still couldn't figure out.

From a Time point of view, the dishes alone would take anywhere from forty-five to sixty minutes, tops. Splinter's having to referee could possibly add an additional ten minutes, not to mention another twenty minutes to go over Raphael's assignment (due to said student's frequent arguments about why couldn't he "write about stupid scary dumbass bugs like that, ya said a science report, and it's a science report, man, not everyone can write about gross, disgusting, scary as hell bugs like Don can, why are ya always comparin' me ta him?"), followed by another ten minutes about the importance of neat handwriting especially if one wanted to focus on science (and the accompanying argument that "poor penmanship is often a sign of higher intelligence, and they say Einstein had really poor penmanship, and did you know that da Vinci wrote backwards like mirror writing, and he was a genius, though it's true that Raph's penmanship is much worse than mine and HE certainly is no genius"…)

That was DEFINITELY good for an additional fifteen minutes of mayhem and parenting skills put to the test!

Leo quickly calculated that between Splinter, Raph and Don, he had a window of ninety minutes to a possible two hours of time to copy the kata and return Mike's inaccurately titled folder to his stupid notebook.

Mike would be in the bath for an extra-long time tonight, spaghetti aside, due to the distraction of Splinter with the other two, not to mention the fact that Splinter had found during today's scavenging a Teela™ action figure, minus one leg ("Poor Teela…. I guess Skeletor got you good, but don't worry, He-Man will avenge you!"), a squirting shark bath toy ("YES! JUST what I've always wanted!"), and the "pizza resistance!" as Mike had cheerfully crowed, a bathtub faucet cover in the shape of a TURTLE! ("So THAT'S what the huge hole in his butt is for!" "Naw, Mike, he needs it ta poop out plastic blocks." "Raphael! Enough!"). That ALONE would Leo give PLENTY of time to get the kata copied and then replace it in Mike's notebook, even if the other stuff wasn't happening!

Heck, he could probably get in a bit of practice as well, it was a cinch that no one else would be taking a bath tonight, Mike would probably lock the door and not come out until he'd "used up all the hot water in New York City for crap's sake, Mike, how are the rest of us supposed ta take a bath when yer creatin' a shortage like that, jeeze, it ain't like nobody else might be wantin' ta get clean tonight ya stupid water hog!"

_Three hours at the least_, thought Leonardo, happily spearing the other half of his meatball and chewing it twenty-three times because in his excitement he forgot to Count Properly.

It was Perfect.

Then Splinter stood up.

"I will do the dishes tonight, my sons. I want to be sure they are cleared away before I go out briefly."

"Where are you going, Sensei?" Leo immediately asked above the cheering of the other two.

"I am uneasy about today's events," he said, as he began clearing the table. "The scent of all those humans is still strong in my memory. There were too many and they were too close, and intermingled were other scents that disturb me. I have been uneasy in my soul all evening so I am going to do a quick check of the perimeters. I want to be sure these scents are only in my imagination, and not close to our home."

The others didn't seem surprised or concerned. They knew that Splinter was The Best, and there was nothing to worry about if he didn't tell them to worry.

But Leonardo felt as if his spaghetti was fighting a war with the meatballs in the pit of his stomach. If Sensei could sniff out the humans, he might just also sniff out one wayward turtle!

"_Ha!" _Little Angel Turtle whispered in his conscientious_. "Bet you didn't remember how Sensei is like a bloodhound!"_

"_He ain't got nuttin' ta worry about," _Little Devil Turtle asserted_. "Splinter's just worried about humans. Ain't no way he can smell turtle, and even if he does, who's ta say it wasn't one of the others, if ya catch my meaning."_

"Let ME go, Sensei!" he heard himself saying. "You need to let Don and Raph wash those dishes, you've been working hard all day, and they need those papers corrected, and—"

"Leonardo, I will take care of it. Go watch television. Michelangelo, do not use up all of the hot water for your bath! I am serious!"

"Hai, Sensei," they all chorused, trooping off to do as they were told—all except Leonardo, Master Ninja and Adult _and_ Second-In-Command.

"Se-Sensei," he began again, the cold panic beginning to move from his stomach to his brain. "Sensei, I'm SURE they're far gone! Stay home tonight and rest. You really should just go sit down and check Don and Raph's homework and then watch some relaxing TV and drink some tea and.. and.." he began to falter under the gaze of his Father and Sensei. "… and I could check the perimeters for you… and be fast… and…"

Splinter's silent gaze was more powerful than words. Leo gulped, then sighed.

"Hai, Sensei," he said, leaving the kitchen and seating himself on the couch where the other two were already bickering over what to watch, while the noise from the bathroom told him that, despite Sensei's orders, the Mikey Show promised to be long and loud and messy tonight.

Raph and Don were starting a fight about what to watch, so Leo slipped into his room, determined to copy the kata as quickly as possible.

Working quietly, constantly glancing over his shoulder at every little sound, he dug out his notebook, his writing instruments, and the kata, mind recalculating the time frame.

Splinter would have the entire dishes wash, dried and put away in ten minutes. He'd be leaving as soon as he'd finished, with maybe sparing five minutes to break up the fight on the couch over whether to watch Monster Truck Racing on the sports channel or the marathon showing of "The Secret Life of Plants"—again—followed by Splinter's threatening to disconnect this new fangled cable thing that Donatello had managed to install.

To patrol the boundaries it would take Splinter at least ten minutes to reach the first, then anywhere from twenty to forty minutes to make the rounds. Leo, erring on the side of caution, now estimated that, Mike's bath aside, he only had forty-five minutes to get busy—still enough time, barring any need to break up the fight between Don and Raph once Splinter was gone. Say he'd make one attempt at the ten minute mark, then ignore them until Splinter got back—he'd still be able to get the job done, and MAYBE still manage a quick run-through of what he already knew of the kata.

He could do this.

He squared up his paper on his desk, arranged his pens and ink neatly, rearranged them because the second from the right was not quite in line with the other five, turned on the little light on his desk so he didn't need the glare of the overhead light to alert the others that he was Doing Something Important—moved his notebook once again, fluffed up his cushion that he sat on—turned his "desk" a fraction of an inch to the right—realigned ALL of his pens as they'd rolled out of position when he'd moved the desk—opened the folder to begin the task of copying—

"Whatcha doin' bro?"

The folder nearly flew out of his hand, and he nearly jumped out of his shell, simultaneously scared to death and angry at Raph who had once again startled him.

"What did I tell you about sneaking up on me?"

"Ya said ninja shouldn't be sneaky and that Splinter was all wrong about it," came the easy reply. Raph proceeded to flop down on his bed, feet near his pillow, and grin wickedly at Leo from the foot of the bed, waiting for the sputtering response that Splinter was Never Wrong About Anything!

Leo counted to ten at least five times, ignoring Raph for the moment with Icy Indifference while all the time calming his still rapidly beating heart.

"I am working on my writing, if you must know," Leo finally said as coldly as he could. "Something YOU should do as well, I might suggest. Why aren't you out there fighting with—watching tv with Don?"

" 'Cause Don and I got a deal. He gets ta watch his show for a half-hour, then I get to watch MINE for a half-hour. So I thought I'd see what YOU were doin'."

Leonardo kept his back to his brother, straightening and restraightening his writing materials. After five minutes of this, he was running out of ideas.

"So, ain't ya gonna practice?"

"How can I with you watching me?"

"If I don't watch ya, how will I learn? Yer always goin' on in the dojo about if I watch ya closely I'll learn somethin'. So I'm watchin' ya work on yer writin', and then maybe I'll learn ta be better with my own writin', which you seem ta think needs improvement."

Silence, only because Leo was struggling not to lose his temper and Raph was struggling not to burst out laughing at the spectacle of Leonerdo trying to keep control of his emotions.

Raph, sprawled on his plastron, head propped up on his hands, watched for a few more minutes, then brought up another topic.

"Speakin' of you teachin' me something, how about you teaching me how ya hid today in this tiny lair so that Don and I couldn't find ya."

Gulp.

" 'Cause the way I see it, we've been playing 'Hide 'n Seek' since practically forever, and we all know where all the hidin' places is, so how is it that you suddenly have a new one no one knows about?"

"Maybe he was hiding under the towels again," came Mike's voice and he entered the room, flipping on the overhead light and making a beeline for Leo's desk. Leo had enough presence of mind to hide the folder quickly and smoothly under his notebook. "Whatcha doin'?"

"Why aren't you in the bath?" Leo demanded. He hastily covered his notebook with his body because it was apparent that Mike was still covered in spaghetti and sauce, and Leo did NOT want any stray food falling on his precious items!

"I needed something, but now I forgot what," Mike grinned, turning back to grab his favoritest pajamas (the ones with the Spiderman™ top and the Star Wars™ bottoms).

"Under the towels?" Raph snorted. "What kind of dumb hiding place is that?"

Mike shrugged.

"He was hiding under the towels a few nights ago when I was taking my bath. Said he was training."

"Trainin' fer what? Laundry duty?"

Both brothers snorted laughter as Leo practiced his Indignant Glare at them both.

"He said it would come in handy in the future," Mike responded, grinning at the expression on Leo's face. "He said a good leader always plans for the future."

"Well, I don't see no future where we'd hafta hide under some badguy's nasty old towels," Raph laughed some more. "We're ninja, not waterbugs!"

Both brothers began another round of raucous laughter, while Leo struggled to come up with a crushing response.

Unfortunately, he wasn't able to.

FORTUNATELY, Don saved him by the announcement that "It's YOUR turn, Raph! Since Mike's not in the bath, think I'll take a quick shower!"

"NOOOOOOO!" Mike bellowed, vanishing as quickly as he'd appeared. Raph, however, rolled lazily out of the bed and sauntered towards the door, pausing to glance back at Leo.

"We ain't finished, Leo. I know you were outta the lair today. I can't prove it—yet—but I know this place as well as you, and even if ya WAS under the towels, we would have found ya, 'cause we both tore the bathroom apart. And besides, there weren't no towels on the floor."

"You'll never discover my hiding place," Leo managed bravely. "And I was NOT out of the lair."

"That's good then…. 'cause you KNOW Sensei can smell _anything_," came the faint response from the living room followed by the roar of the Monster Trucks on the TV.

Leo looked at the clock, blocking Raph's comment from his mind. A half-hour of his precious time had been wasted. Now he probably had twenty-five minutes at the most to get this done!

Quickly he began to copy, furitively looking over his shoulder every few seconds to see if Donatello would now invade his privacy. He could hear the opening theme of the Mikey Show from the bathroom; Raph was shouting and cheering at every monster truck that was crushing anything at all.

_Kusanku_

_1. Look_

_2. Left pinan block_

_3. Right pinan block_

_4. Pull_

_5. Knife hand_

_6. Right punch, outside block_

_7. Left punch, outside block_

_8. Pull_

_9. Kick, turn, pinan block_

_10. Pinan block_

_11. Pinan block—_OOPS!

He had the first eleven moves copied—neatly—in cursive—oops! When he'd thought he'd heard the door open, he'd turned too quickly and knocked his bottle of ink over—quickly he set it up, but enough of the black stuff had gotten on his paper.

Maybe he should use pencil?

He began a new page, this time with a carefully sharpened number 2 pencil firmly in his grasp.

"_I guess the scent of little turtle would be hard to notice," mused Little Angel Turtle in his right ear._

_12. Knife hand_

_13. High block_

_14. Kick and down_

_15. Naihanchi, side block_

_16. High block_

_17. Kick and down_

_18. Naihanchi, side block_

_19. Pull_

"_Sure," agreed Little Devil Turtle into his left. "All them humans, not to mention that humungous albino alligator chasing them as well. Hell, that giant reptile would definitely cover up the smell of a naughty, rule-breaking turtle better 'n Lysol™ spray!"_

Copy copy copy…. Erase erase erase… copy copy copy…

"_Still…. " Little Angel Turtle went on, "He DID know which turtle had gone out of the lair a few weeks ago, remember?"_

"_Raph was just careless, and besides, he shouldn't had cleaned the strawberry jam off his foot, then Sensei might have thought it was Mike."_

"_Nope, the strawberry jam, or lack of, wasn't a part of it. Sensei came in KNOWING that he'd been out of the lair."_

Copy scribble erase copy copy copy turn stop listen look…. Copy copy scribble…

"_Yeah, but it might have been a lucky guess. How comes he didn't notice that all three of them had been outside when he came home?"_

"_Too distracted I guess."_

"_Yeah, too distracted."_

_27. Kick, down up, step behind, seisan_

_28. Punch punch_

_29. Down_

_30. Up, double strike_

_31. Down and strike_

_32. Right seisan, block_—RIIIIIP!

"Damn it!" Leo let slip, grabbing yet another sheet of paper and starting all over again. He'd made it this far before Disaster.

"Man, that was a great show!" he could hear Raph cheering from the living room. A brief glance at the clock and he knew Sensei would be back soon.

Hurriedly he got a fresh piece of paper and began again.

"_Still, I think that Sensei can't possibly discover that Leo disobeyed him," Little Devil Turtle said. "Too much interference this time, smell/wise."_

"_I hate to admit it, but I believe you are right," Little Angel Turtle said sadly. "Shame… he used to be the GOOD turtle… but it appears he's gotten away with it."_

"Where is Leonardo?"

The voice of Splinter sounded throughout the lair, stern and demanding in its tone of immediate answer.

"_Then again…."_

_TBC_


	14. Chapter 14

_**(Just a short attempt. I am determined to make Leonardo pay for his actions, but he still needs just one or two more chances to dig his grave deeper. "Dan Wilder" and "Questbusters of the Underworld" are my creations. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is the property of Nickelodeon and Viacom, and I am not.)**_

**Stalking the Green-Eyed Monster**

**VII. Maneuvering**

_**Sun Tzu says:**_

_**15.**__** In war, practice dissimulation, and you will succeed.**_

_**Sun Tzu, The Art of War**_

_(Last time…)_

_"Man, that was a great show!" he could hear Raph cheering from the living room. A brief glance at the clock and he knew Sensei would be back soon._

_Hurriedly he got a fresh piece of paper and began again._

_"__Still, I think that Sensei can't possibly discover that Leo disobeyed him," Little Devil Turtle said. "Too much interference this time, smell/wise."_

_"__I hate to admit it, but I believe you are right," Little Angel Turtle said sadly. "Shame… he used to be the GOOD turtle… but it appears he's gotten away with it."_

_"Where is Leonardo?"_

_The voice of Splinter sounded throughout the lair, stern and demanding in its tone of immediate answer._

_"__Then again…."_

It would be an exaggeration to say that Leo's mind nearly exploded with a million thoughts ranging from "He KNOWS" to "What did Mike do NOW?", but his brain certainly was working faster than Don's (it seemed to him, at least).

The chill that gripped his heart spread through his plastron as he managed to answer "Hai, imasu!" in a firm, non-shaky voice even as he was bounding out of his room, automatically grabbing the latest of Sensei's favorite books (and therefore one Leo had been struggling mightily to read because, you know, Future Leader!), and in those few seconds Leonardo's Fate was sealed; he'd crossed over to the Dark Side!

The studious young (Future) Leader, finger absently guiding his reading eyes along the middle section of page 134 of "Gone With the Wind" (the part where Scarlett and Rhett are married and lots of other boring stuff), entered the living room, a look of angelic innocence mixed with the regretful realization that he'd Shirked his Duty to Babysit his Brothers and was Prepared to Face the Music for What They Had Done THIS Time.

"Hai, Sensei?" he bowed, looking furtively around for any signs of flood, fire, famine (had Mike been in the kitchen again?), or pestilence but only finding two brothers on the couch and one on the floor, watching the news.

Oh, and one extremely stern-looking Rat, arms crossed, ears slightly flattened, face in a serious frown, and tail-tip twitching.

"…the host of the show, Dan Wilder, promises that the footage they managed to shoot will be the biggest find of the show's history," the reporter for Channel 6 news was reporting. "We reached out to the Director of Public Works for his comments on the claims by the cast and crew of "Quest Busters of the Underworld", but only received the following statement."

A graphic of the release was then shown on screen as the reporter provided the audio.

"Since the days of the legendary Teddy May, claims of giant rats and alligators living beneath the City have been a part of our cultural history, but we can definitely assure you, there is nothing down there but what one would normally find in a sewer."

Splinter made a motion, and Don turned off the set with the remote. His eyes, however, never left Leonardo.

Leonardo, face carefully showing what he assumed it should be showing, i.e., amazement at the news there'd been someone in the sewers with cameras, gazed back at his Sensei and Father.

"That section of the sewers is blocked off," Splinter stated.

"Hai, Sensei," Leo responded, not quite sure what to make of that comment.

"I have warned you repeatedly to never play in that area."

"And I haven't, Sensei!"

The tail-tip kept twitching, as the Rat's eyes burned into Leonardo's.

"And yet these surface dwellers seem to have managed to find this particular location."

Leo's body felt as if it wasn't his own. He had a strange sensation of actually watching this conversation rather than being a part of it.

"But, Sensei… they said nothing about what part of the sewer they were in, or that it was a large albino alligator."

"He's right, Sensei," Don chimed in. "We saw the bit just before you came in, and all that guy was raving about was legends and alligators and some book called 'The World Beneath the City' which sounds like a very interesting book. Do you have that one, Sensei? I'd like to read it."

The Rat continued to look at his eldest.

"And yet among the smells of humans I keep coming across the familiar smell of my sons," came the cold words Leonardo had feared—and yet, he still felt as if someone else were in control of his body and voice.

"But, Sensei, with all due respect, both Mike and I were in the sewers a few days ago, before you warned us to not go out again. So it would seem logical that you'd smell those scents."

The tail stopped in mid-twitch. Splinter's whiskers, however, began to take up the slack, as the Master struggled to control himself.

"And, I have to say, Sensei, I am ashamed to tell you, but before you came home I found Don and Raph outside of the lair, and I have no idea just how long they were out or how far they'd roamed-"

"The HELL?" Raph exploded off of the couch and right towards Leo. "WADDAYA MEAN, Don and Raph was outta the lair? YOU was the one we couldn't find! YOU was the one OUT of the LAIR!"

"Raphael!" Splinter snapped, but Raphael was not to be silenced, especially now that Donatello had his back in this fight.

"Leonardo says he was hiding, Sensei, but we know all the hiding places, and he certainly was NOT inside when we went out to look for him!"

Raph rolled his eyes.

"Way to go, Genius," he muttered, then turned his attention to his Sensei and Father. "Yeah, we did go out, but we didn't go OUT—as in into the sewers! Honest, Sensei, we never!"

"Yeah, Leo, and you KNOW we didn't!" Donatello added. "We spent our time on our assignments, and then we spent more pointless time looking for YOU because we needed you to settle something!"

Leo sadly shook his head as if he couldn't fathom the Depths of Deception his Brothers would descend into.

"I told you, I was practicing my hiding, and evidently I've mastered it, because you, Donatello, with your intelligence and you, Raphael, with your pissiness couldn't find me."

Now Splinter was in the midst of three arguing boys—and Mike was taking it all in, wondering if this would be a good time to grab a snack to enjoy while basking in the knowledge that HE wasn't the one in trouble.

"Enough!" Splinter commanded, and all three stopped in mid-shout (well, Raph and Don were in mid-shout; Leonardo, (future) Leader, was in mid-argument). "We will end this now. NO one is to venture out under any circumstances unless I have directly instructed otherwise!"

"Hai, Sensei," the three responded with bows, Leo's just a bit smugger than the others—indeed, to his mind it was the bow of one adult to another—and then Splinter sent everyone to bed.

"Sensei, can I have my notebook back?" Mike asked, but the Rat was not in the mood, and without waiting for what was sure to be the answer "No", Mike cheerfully bounced into the bedroom, followed more reluctantly by Leonardo, who could feel the glares of Raph and Don burning holes into his shell.

Splinter, shaking his head, sighed and then made one more visual inspection to make sure this part of the sewers was undetectable. The brief news item had him rattled, and though he was certain someone was lying to him, he still found a tiny bit of doubt nagging at his conscious. After all, though they all managed to bend the truth at times, Leonardo would never lie so boldly to him, of that he was sure!

And yet... and yet…

He secured the door, then went into the kitchen and made some much needed tea to consume before preparing for a restless night of worry.

Meanwhile, Leonardo prepared for bed in the chilly silence. He had not managed to copy the entire kata, and time was running out. He needed to replace it and soon, but with them all under lockdown until Sensei deemed the sewers safe again, it was going to be hard. Even Splinter would probably be staying home for the next few days, and eventually he would give Mike his notebook back. Leo had to (a) master that new kata and (b) replace the "borrowed" folder before anyone found out!

But how? When they were all so very little, this home seemed HUGE and spacious. One could run for miles from the kitchen to the bedroom and back again, and never bump into anyone unless it was on purpose.

But now, Leonardo was realizing that at the age of ten, they were all crowded into a very small place, one where privacy was severely restricted (even in the bathroom, as he knew from experience).

_I have to work on finding a hiding place they never looked in before Sensei decides to question me again_, he mentally noted, all the while making a show of buttoning up his pajama top, carefully arranging his pajama bottoms so that they fit snug but not too snug, and then nonchalantly putting away his writing tools.

Then he had to pull down the covers of his carefully-made bed, arranging the top sheet and the thin blanket into a near-perfect right angle, fluffing up his sadly worn pillow, and winding his little alarm clock…

Only the key was missing.

The KEY was MISSING!

Casually he glanced around the room, then checked under the beds, the corners, his desk, the closet, his bed, the floor, under the beds, the corners, his desk, the closet, his bed, the floor, under the beds—

"Will ya turn out the LIGHTS for crap's sake?" Raph bellowed, followed by a muffled "Sorry, Sensei" when Splinter reprimanded him for yelling (while, Raph wanted to point out, HE was yellin' at ME ta not YELL, for crap's sake).

"I can't find the key to wind my clock," Leo said, just a tiny tinge of worry to his voice.

"Big whoop, turn off the lights so's we can get some sleep 'cause I'm so gonna kick yer ass in trainin' tomorrow for lyin' to Splinter about me and Don!"

Leo was going to respond in true (Future) Leader fashion, but he found Donatello studying him from the top bunk like a bug trapped under his toy microscope. With as much dignity as he could summon, he switched off the lights, climbed carefully into bed, and tried to settle down.

At least he couldn't see Don staring at him, though he knew the brainy turtle was still in that obnoxious pose of "studying" him.

_How can I get that folder back into Mike's notebook?_

"_Ya could set the kitchen on fire, and then while Sensei and the others are tryin' ta put it out, you could put it back then," Little Devil Turtle whispered into his left ear._

"_NO FIRE!" Little Angel Turtle shouted into his right._

"_Aw, gee, I was just kiddin'," laughed Little Devil Turtle. "And 'sides, he does need a way ta sneak into Splinter's room and replace that folder."_

"_It's bad enough that he told such LIES to his Sensei and Father! One shouldn't kid about setting fires!_

_Little Devil Turtle shrugged. _

"_Ya ask ME, he didn't actually LIE ta ANYONE."_

_Little Angel Turtle snorted in derisiveness. _

"_Naw, think about it—he DID say he an' Mike had been in the sewers, which was true. And he did say that he found Raph and Don outside the lair, which is also true…"_

"_What about accusing them of wandering? What about claiming he was HIDING?"_

"_Well, he just said he didn't KNOW how far they'd gone, and that's sorta true," Little Devil Turtle countered. "AND—he WAS hidin'—only not in the lair. So yeah, maybe he stretched it there a bit, but still, there it is: No lies!"_

And with that, Leonardo, Master Ninja and Grown-up, fell asleep, secure in the knowledge that he was STILL the Good Turtle…

"_Yeah, right," snorted Little Devil Turtle._

(TBC)


End file.
